Dezeeuw golden goal sets up Red Devils/Warriors TVRA Southeast final

WCI defender Oscar Berkeley (left) clears the ball from danger amidst the confluence of a St. Thomas St. Joe’s attacker (centre) and Red Devils goalie Brayden Freeman (right). (Jeff Tribe Photo)

Jeff Tribe, Echo Correspondent

It wasn’t just a golden goal.

It was a Western Ontario Secondary Schools Athletic Association AA qualifier golden goal that also achieved the Woodstock CI Red Devils soccer team’s shared goal of getting to the regional playdowns.

WCI’s Elisha Dezeeuw broke a 1-1 Thames Valley Regional Athletics Southeast semi-final overtime tie against St. Thomas St. Joe’s early in the second 10-minute extra period Thursday, May 14 at Woodstock’s Cowan Park, capitalizing on an Oscar Berkeley through ball.

“I ran onto it and deked the goalie,” said Dezeeuw. “He was probably out 25 (metres).”

“After we scored, we just ‘parked the bus,’” added Red Devils keeper Brayden Freeman, keeping the ball low against a considerable wind, while focusing on defence first.

“Everything out of the back, everything out,” Dezeeuw explained. “If in doubt, kick it out.”

St. Joe’s had opened scoring in the first 20 minutes, a marker countered near the end of the first half by Berkeley, on a through ball. The second half and first overtime period played out goalless, with Dezeeuw’s game-winner setting up a tense final few minutes before the referee’s trio of whistles.

The game was a physical one, said Berkeley, which he felt played to WCI’s advantage.

“We knew it was going to be a war. We had to be dogs, had to get it done, use our physicality.”

Assistant coaches Ben Ojeerally and Colin Maltby presided over the victory. Jason Poole, on the DL (disabled list) and bedridden with a back injury, was linked in via Instagram live stream, remote coaching, a new wrinkle in a world introduced to remote learning and virtual reality.

“We got the win for him,” said Ojeerally. “He started this program from scratch.”

“And now we’re in the WOSSAA AA final,” added Maltby.

The defending Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations AA champion Woodstock St. Mary’s Warriors punched their WOSSAA ticket with a 3-0 TVRA Southeast semi-final shutout win over St. Thomas Parkside, following the WCI/St. Joe’s game.

The Warriors were strong from the get-go, Kingston McPherson opening scoring on a nifty solo move down the wing and adding a second marker. Elijah Allard headed home a cross from brother Caleb to round St. Mary’s scoring, with keeper Dominic Cabral picking up the shutout.

“We had our best game of the season,” said Warriors coach Vanessa Pye. “The boys came out and showed us their full potential.”

The Warriors and Red Devils were scheduled to meet Tuesday, May 19th in the TVRA final, a game deciding both seeding and bragging rights heading into WOSSAA, hosted this year in Huron-Perth.

“It will be a great battle against WCI, and it is always exciting to be going to WOSSAA,” Pye concluded.

Woodstock College Avenue Knights 3, Tillsonburg Glendale 1

Knights’ striker Kaleb Krupp locked up a 3-1 TVRA Southeast Tier II semi-final victory with a back-post header, later in the second half.

“Just saw the corner coming in, got my head to it, enough of a connection, and I got it in the back of the net.”

Faiad Alezzi had opened the scoring for the Knights, a goal countered by Tillsonburg’s Marhsal Delaere roughly 20 minutes into the second half. Nathan Ugar restored College Avenue’s lead with a comparatively quick counterpunch, however, burying a rebound after Glendale goalie Ethan Gazley made a diving save.

CASS had controlled the balance of play and had a distinct advantage in second-half scoring chances, Krupp’s marker making the final semi-official. Santiago Marroquin picked up the assist on the corner, a Grade 12 student whose family left Garzon, Colombia (Huila Province) four years ago in search of a better life in Canada.

“Jumping into the void is never comfortable,” he said of leaving family, friends and all he’d known to arrive, originally, in St. Catharines. Soccer, by far the most popular sport in his native country, helped the transition, giving him a peer community and environment to learn English. Formerly playing club in Colombia, Marroquin ‘plays for fun’ with CASS, providing experience and skill as a centre back who also takes corners from the right side.

‘Looking for the tall guy,’ he spotted Krupp and took advantage of a strong northerly breeze.

“The wind was in our favour,” Marroquin said. “So, lots of curve.”

With the win, the Knights earned the right to play Woodstock Huron Park Tuesday, May 19, in the TVRA Southeast Tier II final.

“They’re solid,” Krupp concluded. “But we definitely have the ability to beat them. We’re going to give it our best.”