Tillsonburg FC U9 boys pick up title, bouquet of fun in Welland

The Tillsonburg FC U9 boys soccer team captured the U9B Bridge Tier championship at the Welland Wizards Rose Festival tournament Saturday, June 13 in Niagara. Team members included, in the front row, Patrick Wood; (second row, left to right) Carraig Moraes, Sawyer Van Ittersum and Stan Bondarchuk; third row, left to right, Francesco Macri, Nathan Sulkowski, Luke Van Den Brink and Tobias Van Ittersum; and in the back row, head coach Taras Bondarchuk. (Contributed photo)

Jeff Tribe, Post Correspondent

The Tillsonburg FC U9 boys soccer team picked up a bouquet of fun along with a U9B Bridge Tier championship at the one-day Welland Wizards Rose Festival tournament Saturday, June 13 in Niagara.

Tillsonburg competed in a six-team, two-pool division also featuring the Port Colborne Storm, Fort Erie Sting, Grimsby Red, Welland Wizards Black and London Alliance Mustangs.

Tillsonburg opened pool play with a comparatively-comfortable 4-0 win over Port Colborne.

“We played our game,” said head coach Taras Bondarchuk. “Pass and score, with good passion.”

In order, Francesco Macri, Sawyer Van Ittersum, Nathan Sulkowski and Stan Bondarchuk found the back of the net for the winners, with goaltender Tyler Wood keeping a clean sheet.

“We played pretty good,” said coach Bondarchuk.

FC’s second pool game was against Fort Erie, unfolding as a physical contest between two determined teams.

“It was a battle,” said Bondarchuk. “To be honest, it was harder than the final game.”

Van Ittersum scored the game’s lone goal in the first half, with Tillsonburg’s defence and Wood equal to the task of locking up a one-nil victory through the second.

“We played confident and kept our position,” said Bondarchuk.

The 2-0 record placed Tillsonburg atop the B Pool standings, qualifying the team for the Bridge Tier Ranking A Final against Grimsby, which won its Pool A round robin against London and the host Wizards.

It was a contest between teams adopting a similar style said Bondarchuk, Grimsby proving a highly-skilled side which liked to move the ball.

“We played the same tactics.”

Van Ittersum scored the first half’s lone goal, FC taking a 1-0 lead into the break as a result. Grimsby opened the second half with a strong push Bondarchuk credited.

“But our goalie saved a lot. He saved a lot of shots.”

Tillsonburg’s opponents finally broke through with around five minutes remaining in regulation, forcing FC to reset and refocus.

“We didn’t give up and pushed hard,” said Bondarchuk.

Van Ittersum scored what would stand as the game winner in the contest’s latter stages, his second marker standing up as the winner.

Eight players represented Tillsonburg FC at the event, part of a broader U9 group also including Beckett Leistra, Raymond Adeniyi, Hudson Kenline, Jasper Janzen, Bennett Heath, Xavier Magno, and Grant Maltby. Collectively, they play on two five-versus-five entries in the Elgin Middlesex District Soccer League’s (EMDSL) U9 Division.

The teams play ‘festivals’, friendlies involving several teams in which official scores are not kept, although coaches and players do have an idea of how they’re doing.

Bondarchuk is a former professional soccer player and coach originally from Ukraine. His focus is on moving the ball, passing and developing soccer ‘chemistry.’

“They’re doing well, really well,” he concluded, a statement applying to the overall group’s development, along with the performance at Welland. In speaking with other coaches at that event, Bondarchuk discovered some had not heard of Tillsonburg.

“A small city, but we showed where we are,” he concluded.