U10 Bluewater Blaze Boys Runner Up
in Cambridge Tournament
July 14 - 15

The Sarnia Bluewater Blaze Boys U10 Soccer Team went to Cambridge this past weekend and finished as runners-up in the Cambridge International Heritage Soccer tournament.

Bluewater went 3-0 winning their qualifying pool and advancing into the playoffs.  In their opening game Bluewater faced a tough Windsor Wolves squad.  The game was a scoreless tie after the first half with Bluewater holding the territorial edge.  With 5 minutes left in the game Jordan Walsh deflected a shot off his head into the net.  A couple of minutes later Justin Fazio netted a goal and the game ended 2-0 for Bluewater.  Solid goalkeeping from Franco Sproveiro sealed the win.

The second Bluewater game against Rockwood started under overcast skies and finished under a deluge.  With Tim Kaldeway assisting both times, two first half goals by Andrew Shortt gave Bluewater a 2-0 halftime lead.  With a shortened halftime due to pouring rain, both teams went back to the field.  Midway through the second half a shot from deep in the corner by Justin Fazio found the back of the net for a 3-0 lead.  Hard rain and hard luck which saw Bluewater hit 3 cross bars and 4 posts prevented the score from being higher.  Bluewater with Chris Docherty in net posted their second shutout of the tournament.

In the final qualifying pool game Bluewater faced the Mount Hamilton Avalanche.  Jordan Walsh gave Bluewater a 1-0 lead mid way through the first half on tip shot over the Avalanche goalie.  In the second half Franco Sproveiro extended the Bluewater lead with his first goal of the tournament.  The midfield play of Ethan Shackleton, Adriano Fuoco, and Sam Fairbairn and great defense through the day by Joey Taylor and Christian Mauti, with Chris Docherty in net gave Bluewater their third shutout and advanced them through to the playoffs on Sunday as the 3-0 winners of Group C.

Bluewater opened their semi-final playoff game, with a rematch against the Windsor Wolves.  Early in the first half a tough luck play resulted in a penalty shot for Windsor, giving them a 1-0 lead.  But this energized the Bluewater boys; with Franco Sproveiro scoring 2 goals; the first a header off a corner kick by Joey Taylor, the second a left footer onto the upper corner of the net.  Before halftime a long distance shot by Andrew Shortt from midfield found the net and Bluewater had a 3-1 lead.  A quick goal from Franco Sproveiro into the second half produced a hatrick and a 4-1 Bluewater lead.  A goal midway through the second by the Wolves and then a fine Bluewater passing play resulted in a score by Adriano Fuoco.  The able play of Sam Fairbairn, Tim Kaldeway, and Ethan Shackleton shutdown the Windsor team for the rest of the game; which finished 5-2.  Adam Craievich was in net for the victory.

The semi-final victory advanced Bluewater to the final against the Southwest Euros from London.  Bluewater came out strong but couldn’t develop any scoring opportunities.  Southwest found the net twice and the final score was Southwest 2, Bluewater 0, resulting in Sarnia being the tournament u10 Boys runner up.  Head Coach Frank Sproveiro, and assistants Mario Fazio, Paul Craievich, and Dave Shortt were all very proud of the effort put forth by the entire team. 

The Bluewater Blaze are sponsored by Palazzi Tile and Sandrin Bros and play in the U10 Boys Lambton-Kent District soccer league.