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Sarnia Fury U14
Walter Kirchner Tournament
Woodstock, Ontario
Bumps, bruises, and blisters the size of quarters!
Rain and shivers, sun and sweat. The Fury and their
fans faced it all this past Father's Day weekend at
the annual Walter Kirchner Woodstock Soccer
tournament. Despite the deterrents the Fury came
out victorious, making it to the finals and only
losing to a very challenging opponent. At the end
of the two days Sarnia would come home capturing the
Silver, ending a weekend of excitement on a high
note.
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submitted photos |
For game 1 on Saturday
morning Sarnia donned their white
jerseys to take the field against the
red suited South Huron Red Devils. The
weather was dreary, but the mood of the
Fury players was not. During both
halves, Nick Speed stoned the
opposition; posting a shutout and saving
12 shots in total that were directly on
the net. Prior to the midpoint whistle,
Tyler Vynckier, Trevor McEwan, Corey
Soden, and Patrick Gagliardi all had
close shots on the Devils’ keeper.
During a scramble near the opponent's 18
yard box, Patrick Gagliardi received a
cleat to the forehead, but he continued
to play, and was taken to the hospital
after the match to ensure he was okay.
Spencer Gorman and Tyler Vynckier each
used their head to control the ball and
send it back towards the opposing end of
the field. The pace continued to mount
as each team tried furiously to score on
the other to end the 0 - 0 tie.
Anthony Fazzalari and Tyler Vynckier
came close but were just shy of the
net. |
Nick
Speed was unable to recover from an attempted save
and Joshua Core ran in to clear the ball and save
the shutout. The match ended in a tie, with a 0 -
0 score. It was an excellent match and despite the
constant rains an entertaining one as well.
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Game 2 began with the
same wet and cool conditions as the
first. Parents sat under umbrellas to
cheer the Fury on, while coaches and
players all huddled under the rain
shelter in an attempt to stay dry while
waiting to go on the field. The
opposing team, the Woolwich Wolves, wore
black, so the Fury decided to suit up in
red. It was apparent from the start
that the Fury would have to work harder
during this game, as the larger Wolves
were quick, played a great passing game,
and could match Sarnia's speediest
runners. Corey Soden scored first, with
a pass fed from Trevor McEwan, who had
received the ball from Nick Vozza.
Trevor McEwan had two close calls to
score, each just missing the net.
Spencer Charlton made a beautiful head
shot to send the ball flying into the
opposing end of the field, while Joshua
Core, Kevin Leatherdale, and Kyle
McVittie were outstanding on defence.
The second half showed both teams
slightly more aggressive in their level
of play, and the Fury continued to make
the Wolves work hard to gain the field
advantage. |
At
one point, Spencer Gorman had 3 opposing players
surrounding him and he still controlled the ball to
clear it from Nick Speed's lair. Tyler Vynckier had
a close shot on the net from a ball fed to him by
Daniel Vallee, but it went past the wrong side of
the post. Determined to win, the opposing team
continued to drive Sarnia back into their own end,
forcing them to continually use defensive maneuvers
to keep them back from the 18 yard Sarnia box. Two
times during this half, Sarnia's keeper Nick was
caught with too many players cramming the box, and
he was unable to stop the ball from getting past
him. The final score was 2 - 1 for Woolwich.
Sarnia played a great game, with Nick stopping 15
shots during the match.
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Game 3 started with the
sun trying to come out of hiding for the
first time that day. Sarnia again
suited up in Red to take on the White
St. Thomas 13. With the sun shining,
and the wind not strong enough to
interfere with the control of the ball,
the game started quickly and for the
Fury the pace never slackened. Sarnia,
disappointed the close loss of Game 2,
came running onto the field and never
stopped for the entire time of play.
The Red's defence was astounding, almost
a brick wall, against St. Thomas. Most
notably for the match, Daniel Cicchelli,
Kyle McNeil, Kevin Leatherdale, and Kyle
McVittie, all worked to hold St. Thomas
at bay. Taking advantage of the play in
the opponent's end, Sarnia had numerous
shots on the St. Thomas Goalie, Anthony
Fazzalari, Trevor McEwan, and Corey
Soden had a number of close
opportunities, as well as a close
attempt by Daniel Vallee. Nick Speed
only had to work to save 9 shots during
the game, and because of the exceptional
level of defensive action he was able to
post his second shutout of the day.
Sarnia's two goals came in the first
half. |
Corey Soden scored first fed from a sweet pass of
the foot of Anthony Fazzalari. Second to sink one
was Trevor McEwan from a pass sent by Spencer
Gorman. The game ended with a score of 2 - 0 for
Sarnia, and secured a spot in the semi-finals on
Sunday morning.
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Sunday was a great day
for a soccer game, or in the case of the
Fury, two games!!! Sarnia secured a
spot in the Final Match by winning the
semi-final game against the St. Thomas
13, the same team they had beaten the
day before in Game 3. St. Thomas
declared the right to dress in Red for
the match, so Sarnia took to the field
for this game in their whites (or what
could pass as white after playing an
entire day in muddy wet conditions the
day before!).
Confidence ruled for Sarnia as they
played an astounding game of both
defence and offence, switching quickly
between both modes to suit the plays,
and dominating throughout the entire two
halves. St. Thomas played hard, but
Sarnia played harder. They used skill,
communication, and desire to end up
scoring twice in the first half, and
ensuring that St. Thomas could not come
back to score at all during the second.
Nick Speed stoned the opposition for a
third game in the tournament; making
"pro worthy" saves on 12 occasions. |
Kevin Leatherdale jumped into position at one point
when Nick was down, helping to keep the shutout.
The Fury's two goals came from the teamwork of
Patrick Gagliardi, and last year's U12 MVP Tyler
Vynckier. Patrick scored the double bill with
assists fed from Tyler and his left crossover
shots. Their opportunities to do so were a result
of the never-ending determination of everyone on the
field. Sarnia could have scored a third time with
Tyler and Daniel Vallee trying to work together in
front of the net, but the ball would not stop "back
spinning", and it went out of play. Keep trying
boys!!! The final score for the game was 2 - 0 for
Sarnia.
The
final match saw Sarnia face the Woolwich Wolves for
the second time during the tournament. From the
start, the opponent gained control of the game, and
Sarnia was unable to wrestle it away from them.
That is not to say that Sarnia didn't play well,
because the level of sportsmanship, determination,
and skill were still all apparent. The Fury had
close shots from Trevor McEwan, Corey Soden, Patrick
Gagliardi, Kevin Leatherdale, Spencer Charlton, and
Joshua Core. Both Joshua and Kevin jumped into
place to make great saves when Nick couldn't recover
in time, and the entire defensive team worked very
hard to keep the Wolves at bay. But, Woolwich plays
an amazing passing game, and it was this that
enabled the win. Nick was faced with multiple
shots on net, and had to work to stop 19 shots
during the game. Unfortunately, the opponent
managed to score 3 times during the first half, and
4 times during the second half. Final score was 7 -
0 for Woolwich.
During the award ceremonies, the Fury received
trophies for their second place finish, to the
cheers of the coaching staff and families. When the
First place Woolwich team's coach made his speech,
he made a point of telling the Sarnia players that
they had provided his team with the two best games
of the entire tournament, and he encouraged them to
be proud of themselves for a job well done. His
team then picked Joshua Core as the Final Game's MVP
for Sarnia. What a great weekend for the Fury U-14
District team.
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