Warriors qualify for TVRA boys’ soccer championship, WOSSAA AA draw

The Woodstock CI Red Devils closed out their regular season with a 6-0 victory on the road in Tillsonburg. (Jeff Tribe photo)

Jeff Tribe, Echo Correspondent

Technically, the kicks were designated ‘free.’

But the skill which put them into the back of the Parkside net did not come easily.

“Tommy’s foot is golden,” said Woodstock St. Mary’s Warriors boys’ soccer coach Valerie Popovich after Tommy Walker scored twice and added an assist on the offensive end of a 4-0 Thames Valley Regional Athletics (TVRA) semi-final team victory over the visiting St. Thomas Parkside Stampeders Thursday, May 15 at Cowan Park.

The win was doubly important, locking up berths in both the TVRA championship game Wednesday, May 21, and the Western Ontario Secondary Schools Athletic Associations (WOSSAA) AA draw the following Wednesday in London.

“We played our game,” summed up Warriors centre-back Maxwell Odumodu. “A lot of ball movement, strong mid and fast wings.

“Play it into the nine, drop it into the midfield and find a winger.”

Although more even in balance of play, the Warriors exited the first half up 2-0, Walker scoring the opening goal on a well-struck free kick the Parkside goalie got a hand on.

“It was a deflection,” said Walker. “Top left sort of thing.”

St. Mary’s made it 2-0, Hunter van den Akker tapping in a Walker corner.

The Warriors increasingly controlled play during the second half, a pattern established throughout their 2025 season.

“It’s not a gameplan, but we’re able to keep it up,” said Pye. “The intensity goes up as the game goes.”

The Stampeders were unable to muster sustained pressure, however with both finals on the line, the Warriors coaching staff was pleased to see Walker notch the game’s third goal off a free kick near midfield. The deft strike caught the Stampeders goalie off his line and may have been assisted by a trailing breeze, but Warriors coach Vanessa Pye remained convinced the result was one Walker fully planned.

“He meant to do that for sure.”

“I think we both started to breathe a little easier,” Popovich added.

The Warriors rounded the four-nil final in the game’s final ten minutes on a quick transition from offence to defence. Odumodu headed a long ball from danger, moved quickly to the left wing through Caleb Allard, and into the middle of the field for a deft touch forward to Kingston McPherson from Mateus Fortuna, who shortly before, had fired a glorious chance over the bar. Running onto the pass well in the clear with speed, McPherson made a quick shift, tapping the ball into the resultantly wide-open side of the Parkside net.

“Kingston got the nice goal,” credited Fortuna.

In the other TVRA semi-final, St. Thomas St. Joe’s Rams downed Ingersoll DCI Blue Bombers by a 3-0 margin, booking their ticket for a 12-noon championship at Cowan Park.

The Warriors finished the regular TVRA season undefeated, a 1-1 draw against the Woodstock CI Red Devils the only blemish on a perfect campaign. In their regular-season meeting Thursday, May 1 against St. Joe’s, the Warriors prevailed by a 4-1 margin in the Ram’s only loss of the season.

“We have to keep ‘low heads’, we beat them by a lot,” said Odumodu of the required team attitude heading into the post-season rematch.

“Got them easy last game, started off 3-0,” added Warriors defender Travis Martens, noting the focus will be on playing a strong game, keeping fouls and complaining to officials to a minimum.

“A nice team game and playing hard.”

“I would just say, keep playing our game,” Pye agreed in conclusion.

Woodstock CI 6, Tillsonburg Glendale 0

The Woodstock CI (WCI) Red Devils closed out their regular 2025 TVRA season with a comparative offensive explosion Thursday, May 8 at the Tillsonburg Soccer Park. Everett Carne finished with a hat-trick, Josh Cook, Elisha Dee and Noah Clements adding singles.

On a day when there were ample goals and good humour to go around, the latter, regularly playing on the back defensive line, was taking some good-natured ribbing about a rare scoring shot which may have been as much six-yard tap-in as 16-yard cracker.

“It’s a bit harsh,” Clements smiled. “A goal’s a goal, doesn’t matter if it went in by an inch or a mile.”

The Red Devils finished with an undefeated 3-0-2 won-lost-tied record, good enough for third place in final standings and a berth in the WOSSAA A draw Wednesday, May 28th at Cowan Park. WCI opens against Huron Perth’s second seed at 9 a.m. on BMO field, playing at 1 p.m. in either the gold or bronze medal game depending on result.

The 1-3-1 WCI girls’ soccer team also qualified for the WOSSAA A tournament at Cowan Park, opening at 11 a.m. against Huron Perth #2 on BMO field. The girls’ gold and bronze medal games are scheduled to follow at 3 p.m.

TIER II Finals

Woodstock Huron Park and Tillsonburg Glendale close out TVRA South East post-season action, scheduled to meet in the Tier I girls’ championship game Wednesday, May 21 at 12 noon at Huron Park.

The Woodstock College Avenue Knights will contest the boys’ Tier II championship game against Lord Dorchester, also Wednesday, May 21 at Cowan Park, scheduled to kick off at 2 p.m.

TVRA South East Boys’ Soccer

Thursday, May 15 Semi-Finals

St. Mary’s 4, Parkside 0

St. Joe’s 3, IDCI 0

Wednesday, May 14

Lord Dorchester 6, Woodstock Huron Park 1

Tuesday, May 13

Parkside 3, Glendale 0

IDCI 4, Aylmer East Elgin 1

Thursday, May 8

Woodstock CI 6, Glendale 0

East Elgin 3, Huron Park 0

Tuesday, May 6

WCI 1, St. Mary’s 1

IDCI 4, Glendale 0

Monday, May 5

St. Joe’s 3, IDCI 2

East Elgin 3, CASS 1

Huron Park 6, Dorchester 5

TVRA South East Girls’ Soccer

Wednesday, May 14 Tier II Semi-Finals

Glendale 6, CASS 2

Huron Park 5, St. Thomas Central Elgin 1

Tuesday, May 13 Quarter-Finals

East Elgin 4, St. Mary’s 0

St. Joe’s 4, IDCI 0

Thursday, May 8

Huron Park 7, CASS 2

Tuesday, May 6

WCI 4, St. Mary’s 0

Monday, May 5

Huron Park 4, Central Elgin 0

IDCI 3, CASS 0

Thursday, May 1

St. Joe’s 4, St. Mary’s 0

Dorchester 3, WCI 0

Wednesday, April 30

Huron Park 2, Glendale 2

WCI 1, East Elgin 1

Parkside 4, St. Mary’s 0

Monday, April 28

CASS 4, Central Elgin 0

IDCI 1, Glendale 0

Wednesday, April 23

Dorchester 4, St. Mary’s 0

Glendale 5, CASS 1