Chill U16 Men defy the odds - bring home provincial title

VAUGHAN, ON - The Thunder Bay Chill U16 Men’s team were victorious over the weekend at the Ontario Indoor Cup - the provincial championship for indoor soccer. The boys defeated Jarvis Scarborough 5-4 in penalty kicks.

The drama wasn’t only on the pitch at the Ontario Soccer Center or the newly opened Woodbridge Dome. The Chill’s flights to the tournament were cancelled just 12 hours prior to departure, leaving the team management to scramble to rebook on various alternate flights throughout the next day. Tournament organizers rescheduled the first match to Sunday morning, leaving two hours for half of the team to arrive at the airport and get to the second game. The issue was compounded when the last flight out was delayed several hours, leading to a fire drill of sorts to rush the players and head coach through the terminal to an awaiting vehicle. They arrived moments before kick off - a 1-1 draw against the same Jarvis team they would eventually meet in the final.

The Chill reached the finals after a shocking 3-1 victory over the highly favoured Pro Stars Academy from Mississauga. Goal scorers for the Chill were Matteo Bosch with two, and Alex Iossa with the third goal - a thing of beauty from an impossible angle. The team’s “Bend but Don’t Break” defence held out, with timely saves from keeper Erik Aegard sealing the deal.

The finals would be a rematch from Day 1 of the competition. It was a see saw battle with the Chill opening the scoring on a goal from Michael Laukka off of a pinpoint through ball from Matteo Bosch. Laukka and the keeper collided, with both going down, but eventually able to carry on. Jarvis tied it up with a nice passing play, finding a winger open on the backside to beat Aegard. Moments later, Aegard had his revenge with an acrobatic save and rebound recovery to keep the score knotted at two going in to the halftime break.

The second half saw both teams having a crack at net, with Chill co-captain Bosch finding the net in the 37:00 minute from a lay off from the other co-captain Leevi Swearengen. The 2-1 lead would last just 5 minutes, with Jarvis finding the net off of a corner kick. Neither team could close it our in the final eight minutes, making kicks from the spot the method of solving the tie.

After the initial five kickers from each team left the game tied at 3-3, two additional kickers were required. Both Prestyn Popovic and Irving Pawdomu converting, and Aegard holding off the final Jarvis shot taker to give the Chill the clubs first ever Provincial Indoor Championship.

Chill Coach Marco Colistro was “...really excited for our boys. They worked hard all year long, never missed training, their attitude has been incredible. And in the end, they made club history - being the first team to hoist the Indoor Cup.”

The boys would like to thank their parents, Chill coaches and management and the many community partners that sponsor the program, and youth sports in general.