Caledon United falls on penalties in the Toyota National Championships

October 13, 2022 · 0 Comments

By Robert Belardi

Caledon United FC U17 girls, representing Ontario, fell in the National Championships on penalties 1-1 (3-2) to Union Lanaudiére-Sud U17 side out of Quebec.

The five-day tournament, which took place in Surrey, BC, from October 5-10, saw 10 teams divided in two groups.

In United’s Group A, the girls finished tied for first along with the Calgary Blizzards representing Alberta. On goal difference, Caledon United at plus-15, entered as the top seed in Group A.

Union Lanaudiére-Sud finished at the top of Group B, with 12 points. The top two seeds in each Group went on to compete in the finals.

In the preliminary round, Caledon United showcased what their offence could do. In the opening match, the girls trumped St. John’s SC out of Newfoundland 6-0 on the first day. In their next match, the girls went on to defeat Suburban FC out of Nova Scotia comfortably 2-0 and then defeated the Saskatoon Alliance out of Saskatchewan 7-0.

In the finals, the girls had to fight through some adversity as they went 1-0 down early.

“They went up 1-0 in the second minute. Then the girls took over the game and tied it up just before half time. Then the second half went back and forth. They’re a very good team as well. Finished up with the 1-1 tie. Unfortunately, in the penalty kicks, we missed two and they missed one,” said Terry Maddison, Technical Director and Assistant Coach.

“The girls were fantastic the whole week. They represented the club and whole province. Exceptional behaviour on and off the field. Played some unbelievable soccer. A lot of people thought it would have come down to them and Quebec. Even before the tournament started, on reputation they had Quebec as the favourites. We talked about it afterwards with Giorgio, the coach, we couldn’t have asked for anything more. They gave everything. They played against a very good team that played really well, as well.”

Caledon United player Isabella Mazzaferro tied for most goals in the tournament with seven goals in five games. Alessia Donia had a hat-trick against Saskatoon and finished the tournament with five goals.

In some other news, this exposure earned more girls an opportunity to be seen in front of scouts. Maddison confirmed there are players that have made commitments and other players who are being looked at.

So far, three girls have committed to universities: Mazzaferro has committed to Niagara University, Abbey Simpson has committed to Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, and Angelina Kristic has committed to the University of Alabama.

On their accomplishment this year, The Citizen, would like to congratulate head coach Giorgio Iannizzi, assistant coaches Lina Donia and Terry Maddison and managers Cosimo Mazzaferro and Melanie Furlong on finishing in second place in the country.

Of course, a huge congratulations goes out to all players: Maria Godoy Atrash, Ella Oppedisano, Angelina Costa, Angelina Kristic, Sophia Campanella, Maeve McCloskey, Isabella Mazzaferro, Alessia Donia, Anika Sproxton, Sabine Kalogerakos, Kaitlyn Jorge, Naomi Tobar Sharma, Jaileah McPherson, Samantha Russell, Isabella Chiappetta, Ava Pugliese, Abbie Russell, Katie Furlong, Abbey Simpson and Jessika Tavares.