TORONTO – The second day of the BMO Champions Cup wrapped up on Friday evening with the U16 and U20 age groups kicking off their tournaments.
U16 Division
The day kicked off with a match between FC Durham Academy (SAAC) and Vaughan SC (OPDL). Both teams traded early chances but the ‘keepers held strong to keep the match scoreless at the break.
Vaughan jumped out ahead shortly after the restart on a Dujon Martin marker. Durham then battled back to level the match in the 70th on a goal from Adrian Knights-Brown.
However, Vaughan regained the lead after a great solo run and finish by Malcolm Johnston. With the 2-1 win, Vaughan advances to the BMO Champions Cup final on Sunday.
The other match in the U16 division pitted Toronto FC Academy U16 (2001) team against Kleinburg Nobleton Soccer Club Lions United.
Mehdi Essoussi put the Reds up early as he headed home a well-executed set piece. Ryan Robinson doubled the lead midway through the half.
The Lions halved that lead shortly after the halftime restart on a goal from Anthony Ferreira but the Reds answered back right away as Ijah Halley finished off a great attacking build up.
Daniel Assaf, Osaze De Rosario, and Alex Krakowiak-Castro all added goals as the Reds cruised to the 6-1 victory.
Sunday’s matches are set. FC Durham and KNSC will play at 1:30 PM while TFC will duke it out with Vaughan in the U16 final at 5:30 PM.
U20 Division
A wild match featuring Sigma FC ( SAAC) and Vaughan SC Azzurri (OSL) kicked off the U20 division.
Sigma struck first just 12 minutes into the match on a finish by Nathan Dos Santos. However, they were reduced to 10 men after a sending off in the 45th.
Vaughan was relentless in their pursuit of an equalizer and was rewarded for their efforts in the 81st with the game-tying goal from Christian Palmero. Neither side could find another in the 90 minutes so the match was off to extra time.
Just seconds into the first extra frame Vaughan went ahead on a Sigma FC own goal. Then a few minutes later Sigma tied it up again with a dramatic strike from Lorenzo Mayer. The rest of extra time could solve nothing so the game headed into penalty kicks.
The Azzurri prevailed over Sigma 5-4 on penalty kicks with ‘keeper Shyon Gaeeni making a stop to help Vaughan advance to the finals on Sunday.
The final match of the day featured Toronto FC III up against CAF’s Toronto Youth FC. The hard-fought match ended 6-1 in favour of the Reds.
Shaan Hundal opened the scoring as he pounced on a rebound in the box. Early in the second half, he got his brace as he fired home a volley.
Dante Campbell had a strong second half, finding the back of the net on two occasions. The first he curled home from just inside the left corner of the 18. For the second, Campbell finished off a perfect cross from Luca Petrasso.
Toronto Youth got a late goal from Joe Mac as he curled in a free kick from just outside the 18. Zak Abdi and Steffen Yeates added late goals from TFC III.
Sunday’s games are now set with Sigma FC playing Toronto Youth FC at 3:30 PM and TFC III taking on Vaughan SC at 7:30 PM in the tournament finale.
