Stratford Strikers recap
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
By: Michael Willoughby
On July 10, the Stratford U15 Strikers Girls hosted the Guelph Jr. Gryphons Black in the second round of the 2026 U15 Nothers Youth Girls Cup at Cowan Field.
Payton Herman opened the scoring for the home side, only for the Gryphons to respond a few minutes later in the first half. Led by a pair of second-half goals, including the winner, from Reese Campbell, Stratford squeaked out a hard-fought 3-2 win over Guelph, advancing to the semifinals against the Kitchener TFC U14/15, who defeated FFTW Academy 4-3 in their tournament match the same evening.
Stratford head coach Scott Herman commended the team's effort but cited small details that needed to be addressed in practice.
“Feels good. The girls definitely earned it tonight. They worked hard all game. Guelph was pressing quite a bit, and we held them off. So quite happy,” Herman said.
“Keep doing the same thing. Little tweaks at practice again. Same message to the girls. Keep going. Keep playing your game. Keep working hard.”
Stratford travelled to Puslinch for their game against the Predators on July 13. Campbell scored twice, while Mya Groenestege, Peyton Ward, Danica Voros and Jessica Blake also netted goals, giving the visitors a 6-1 victory.
Next up for the U15 Strikers is a match on July 22 against their Nothers Cup semifinal opponent, Kitchener TFC U14/15, at SERC Tennis, located near St. Michael and Stratford District Secondary Schools.
The Nothers Cup semifinal matchup between Stratford and Kitchener TFC takes place on Aug. 7. At press time, the location for the match is yet to be determined.
Unfortunately for the U18 Strikers Boys, their Nothers Youth Cup journey ended on July 10 with a 2-0 defeat against Rockwood FC. On July 13, they travelled to RIM Park in Waterloo to play Waterloo United in the Southwest District Soccer League regular season. Owen Blain scored the lone goal of the match as the Strikers ended their week on a positive note with a 1-0 win.
Next up for the U18 Strikers is a match against the league’s top-ranked Kitchener TFC U17 on July 20 at VFG Field.
In their lone SWDSL match last week, the U16 Strikers Boys pounced on the Woolwich Wolfpack in a 9-0 win at Lions Park in Elmira on July 7.
Graham Cassone led the Strikers with a brace, while Van Koss, Maelaf Haile, Cole Weyers, Miles Hallman, Alro Minnaar, Lucas De Witt and Logan Wilson rounded out the goal barrage in the rout. Their fourth straight win improved the Strikers’ record to 4-1-3 through eight weeks into the season, good for sixth position in the league standings.
Next up for the U16 Boys Strikers is a match against Owen Sound United in Owen Sound on July 14.
The Stratford U16 Girls continued their strong form with a 2-0 win over Waterloo United at RIM Park in Waterloo on July 7. Reese Campbell and Everly Durst scored for Stratford.
With the win, the Strikers stayed atop their SWDSL U16 League standings with an unbeaten 6-2-0 record through eight weeks, one point ahead of Puslinch Predators, who have 19 points in second place. Both squads square off on July 14 at VFG Field at Festival Hydro Community Park.
The story's outcome, along with the others, will be published in next week’s Times edition.