Latest Poll Results - Who is the Challenge Cup League's most exciting offensive player?

St.Lawrence Laurentian's, Mike Howlett

Total votes cast = 177

Final results :

Mike Howlett - 93 votes = 53%

Justin Pickford - 48 votes = 27 %

John Hawco - 36 votes = 20 %

Proovincial B Under 18 Tournament

How come the Avalon Peninsula - St. John's and Mount Pearl are not represented in the Provincial Under 18 "B " tournament? St. John's definitely has a Under 18 "B" team. So how come they aren't going to St.Lawrence this week-end?

Gord

St.Lawrence to host the Under - 18 Provincal Soccer Club Championships

Five teams are entered in the Pepsi Cola Provincial Under-18 boys B soccer championships scheduled for St. Lawrence Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Aug. 1 -3, 2008.

Exploits Valley, Placentia, Labrador West and ASIA from St. Pierre and Miquelon will join the host St. Lawrence entry for the 11-game tournament.

Each team plays a four-game round-robin schedule to send the top two clubs into the title game 1:00 p.m. Sunday.

The schedule is:

Friday, August 1– 2008
2:00 p.m.
Exploits : 2 vs Labrador West: 0
Placentia: 1 vs St. Lawrence : 4

6:30 p.m.
ASIA vs Labrador West
Exploits vs St. Lawrence

Saturday, August 2– 2008
12:00 p.m. - Exploits vs ASIA
Placentia vs Labrador West

6:00 p.m.
Placentia vs ASIA
St. Lawrence vs Labrador West

Sunday, August 3 - 2008
9:00 a.m.
ASIA vs St. Lawrence
Exploits vs Placentia

1:00 p.m. – championship game

St. Lawrence Laurentian's Under 18 Roster:

Brandon Slaney, Colin Etchegary, Aaron Slaney, Dwane Loder,Josh Miller, Marcus Turpin, Sean Edwards, Tyler Beck, Jordan Lambe, KyleNorman, Kyle Edwards, Patrick Slaney, Stefan Slaney, Jody Beck, Chad Miller,Tyler Forsey. Coach: Frank Lambe; Assistant coach: Patty Miller

St. John's Under 18's - 1 Holy Cross - 1 Game report by Gord Dunphy

U18's defending against Holy Cross Photo by Gord Dunphy

St. John's Under 18's tie again

For the third straight contest the St. John's U 18 have managed a tie against their one of the NL Challenge Cup Senior Team's. This time it was a 1-1 score against Holy Cross. The points that Mount Pearl, Feildians and Holy Cross have relinquished to this young squad is obviously going to hurt two of these clubs before the regular season concludes. I'ts very apparent at this point that St.Lawrence will win the "Bobby Breen Memorial Trophy" and thus this leads second place wide open. But sure refusal of the other senior club's to demonstrate any form of desire to win could send them packing early once the play-offs arrive on Labour Day Weekend. With the present play-off format that the NLSA has adopted which gives the top two teams a second life, the chances of the third or fourth place team winning the Provincial Challenge Cup is long shot at best.

In the opening half , Holy Cross came out all full of business and certainly carried the game to the U-18's but neither one of Holy Cross strikers, John Hawco or Patrick Fewer were causing any kind of stir in the offensive zone. These players must start digging with a more aggressive style of play and get more movement in their game in order to be a offensive weapon . At the 21 minute mark a superb header by Zack Wade, originating from a Holy Cross corner kick, opened the scoring for Holy Cross. This was followed up at the 24 minute mark with the U 18's scoring on their first real opportunity of the half. The U-18's, # 18 Chad Seymour, was the guy that set up the play. He out worked Holy Cross and took possession of the ball in midfield and then hit the ball deep into the Holy Cross box. Scott Edwards who, was the Cross keeper in this game, hesitated for a fraction of a second and Aaron Anstey took full advantage of this hesitation. He beat Edwards to the ball, heading the ball into a wide open net. This goal gave Anstey 7 on the season and puts him into the top position of the scoring race. Holy Cross shook of this goal and kept attacking the U-18's. But two glorious opportunities went down the drain as both Jeremy Babstock and Patrick Fewer failed to put the ball into U'18's goal. These two guys were well inside the 6 yard box virtually unmolested, when they failed to capitalize. It was these missed chances that eventually would come back to haunt Holy Cross.

The second half saw a very see saw battle but not a lot of emotion. Both Hawco and Fewer were sent to the sidelines for their efforts and Chad Moore and JB Delirizo were brought into the game to try their magic.Young Jake Warren, who was a U-18's standout, was patrolling the left side of the field caused all kinds of head aches for Karl Reddy. Warren had the best chance for the U-18's in the second half but in this instance it was Scott Edwards and the defensive play of Holy Cross fullbacks which stopped the young squad from taking the lead. Holy Cross's Mike Dawe eventually was brought in replace Jeremy Babstock in midfield and he did bring a little of emotion with him to the game. However it was the U-18's keeper, Michael Bartellas, who is a very good keeper in his own rights,came up big on a couple of occasions as he preserved the 1-1 tie.

Mark Dunphy's Drawing of David Beckham and Ali

David Beckham

Artist Mark Dunphy - Completed in 2006

Mark's favourite pass-time is drawing. He started drawing when he was living home in St.Lawrence and he won the contest at the St.Lawrence Rec Center where he drew a huge soccer ball and surrounded it by a burning blaze of fire in 2003. I just love this picture of Beckham that he drew when he first entered MUN . Since then, he has switched over to CONA doing Architectural Engineering and will complete this course in April of 2009. I feel another superb picture that he drew is that of Ali. He drew this picture in 2008 and it's a beautiful job.

Jubilee Trophy

Gord Dunphy Photo

St. John's Under 18 wallops Paradise Physio by a score of 8-2

In a Jubilee Trophy contest held at the King Georgre V Pitch the St. John's Under 18 defeated Paradise Physio by a very convincing 8-2 score. Leading the way for the U-18 team was Jenny Hutchenson (right on photo) with 3 goals while Heather Williams ( left on photo) contributed with a pair.
The first half saw a relatively even contest for 35 minutes despite the Under 18 leading at the end by a very one sided 5- 1margin. The opening goal was scored by the Under 18's, Heather Williams at the 7 minute mark. 14 minutes later it was veteran Raeleen Baggs knotting the score at 1-1. Raeleen caught the Paradise keeper of her goal-line and lobbed the ball over the keepers head from the 25 yard line. This was followed by Jenny Hutchenson scoring at the 34 minute mark as the Paradise goalkeeper miskicked on a very routine ball. Then controversy hit on the fourth goal of this match. The play which resulted in a U-18 goal was a very blatant off-side play which resulted in Kim Hickman scoring at the 38 minute minute mark. The referee missed the off-sides, while in the meantime he was short one lineman and the off-side occurred on the side of the field that the absent linesman would have been patrolling. Shortly after this play Clayton Welsh, who was in attendance at the game, volunteered his services and took over the linesman duties. But it was obvious the damage was done. The game, at that point, had gone from a one goal margin to a 3-1 score. This off- sided goal may not have been the difference in this game but it's just not acceptable. The coaches and the senior ladies competing in Jubilee competition simply deserve equality and more respect. The first half finished up with Briana McNamara scored at the 42 minute mark and Heather Williams scoring for the U-18's at the 43 minute mark.
The second half saw no controversy. It was simply a very dominating half by the St. John's U-18's. They out ran, outscored and completely outplayed the Paradise team. The Under 18's young legs were much more than the veteran Paradise team could handle. The Under 18's Kaelyn Burke scored at the 51 minute mark. This was followed up by goals scored by the U-18's Jenny Hutchenson at the 59th and 76 minute mark. At the 85 minute mark Susan Myrden scored on a beautiful header to complete the games scoring and give Paradise their second goal of the contest.


In the second contest:

EPR Kirby/The Dock 1 Holy Cross 1

Goal scorers: Holy Cross: Pamela Reid, 79 min - Kirby Team : Leslie Pope, 85 minute mark

Beckham Hits Toronto

Above- Having a beer before the MLS All-Star Game

Above photo #23 David Beckham

Above Photo - My daughter, Melissa, attended the game with me.


Above - Fans ! Fans ! Fans!

Above - MLS All-Stars scoring

Above - #23 - Beckham fan

Above - #23 - Beckham, getting ready for a free shot

Above - Take note of the bend on the ball from David Beckham

Above - West Ham United (Light Blue) - MLS All-Stars (Black)

Above - #23 Beckham carrying the ball

Above - David Beckham getting ready to take a corner kick from the left side

Above - David Beckham giving the ball to his team mate.

Above - David Beckham taking a corner kick from the right corner

Above - BMO Stadium is located in downtown Toronto

Above - Pre-game drills by the MLS All-Stars

Above - Pre-game drills by the West Ham United Team

Above - Both teams warming up

Above - A inside view of the stadium from the pressbox

Above - The guy is let out of a helicopter and parachute to center field

Above - The guy drops onto the field

The National Anthems of Canada, USA & England were sang prior to the game

Above - Fans coming to the game

Above - David Beckham being displayed on the sign

Above - BMO is the Home of the Toronto FC

Above - Out in the parking lot there are mini game being played before the big match starts.

Above - I was there two hours before the game just checking out the ongoing events

Above - A female parachutist brings in the USA Flag to center field

Gord's visit to the Canadian Soccer Association Hall of Fame

The Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum (Ontario)

The Soccer Hall of Fame & Museum was established at the Soccer Centre in Vaughan, Ontario in 1999 and is dedicated to preserving and researching Canada's soccer history. The first Induction Banquet took place in 2000. At this time there are a total of 106 Players and Builders, 6 Teams of Distinction and two Pioneers in the Hall of Fame


Also,inside the Soccer Center is the home of the Ontario Soccer Association

The higest honor one can obtain in Canadian Soccer

NL's Gus Etchegary is the only NL'er in the Hall of Fame

The Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum - Plaque

The National Challenge Cup Trophy is in the Hall of Fame

106 HOF Plaques


Every individual in the Hall of Fame has his name on a plaque with a short bio

Mike Howlett's, former team, the Calagary Callies were honored in 2007 by the CSA as a, "Team of Distinction"

Five former Toronto Maple Leafs, shown in photo, played in the Robbie Tournament - Name them?

Here are their names engraved on the photo

There are 3 indoor pitches in the soccer center

Ryan Slaney running the Tely -10

Ryan finished the race at a time : 1 hr. 17 min. 47 seconds

Under 14 & Under 16, Boys and Girls All -Star "Final Standings "

Gord's Comments; Overall the Newfounland and Labrador All-Stars game scores and final seed were respectable. The Under 16 Boys and Girls 7th place finish was indeed a improvement. The Under 14 Boys 8th place finish with very close scores was ok. The U-14 girls scores and last place seed was a disappointment. Their overall scores and placings certainly needs evaluation. I've noticed that Nova Scotia has placed higher than us in all age categories. I feel that in order for us to move forward, we must strive to be the best in Atlantic Canada .This is certainly a realistic goal of ours. The "Fairplay Award", handed out to the U-14 Boys is a great feat for both the team's members and their coaching staff, Congratulation guys !!!
From these tournaments we must not sit back, we must now get out our progress reports and try to improve our standings in 2009. Listed below are the final seeds of all provinces.

Under 16 Boys All- Stars - Newfoundland placed 7th
1. QC-Quebec U16 boys
2. ON-Ontario U16 Boys
3. AB-Alberta U16 Boys
4. MB-Manitoba - U16 Boys
5. NS-Nova Scotia U16 Boys
6. BC-British Columbia U16 Boys
7. NL-Newfoundland and Labrador U16
8. NB-New Brunswick U16M
9. SK-SK U-16 Boys
10.PE-PEI U16 Boys

Under 14 Boys All-Stars - Newfoundlannd placed 8th
1. QC-Quebec U14 boys
2. ON-Ontario U14 Boys
3. MB-Manitoba U-14 Boys
4. BC-British Columbia U14 Boys
5. AB-Alberta U14 Boys
6. NS-Nova Scotia U14 Boys
7. SK-SK U-14 Boys
8. NL-Newfoundland and Labrador U14
9. PE-PEI U14 Boys All Stars
10.NB-New brunswick U14M

Under 16 Girls All - Stars - Newfoundland placed 7th
1. ON-Ontario U16 Girls
2. AB-Alberta U16 Girls
3. QC-Quebec U16 girls
4. NS-Nova Scotia U16 Girls
5. BC-British Columbia U16 Girls
6. MB-Manitoba U16 Girls
7. NL-Newfoundland and Labrador U16
8. SK-SK U-16 Girls
9. NB-New Brunswick U16F
10.PEI U16 Girls All Stars

Under 14 Girls All- Stars - Newfoundland placed 9th
1. QC-Quebec U14 girls
2. AB-Alberta U14 Girls
3. ON-Ontario U14 Girls
4. BC-British Columbia U-14 Girls
5. MB-Manitoba - U14 Girls
6. SK-SK U-14 Girls
7. NS-Nova Scotia U14 Girls
8. PE-PEI U 14 Girls All Stars
9. NL-Newfoundland and Labrador U14
Note NB Girls had no representative

Feildians: 1 - St. John's Under 18's : 1 Game Report by Gord Dunphy

St. John's Under 18's - Won't back down !!!

Someone must have forgotten to inform the St. John's Under 18's that they are only playing in the NL Challenge Cup on a exhibitional basis. For the second consecutive day this weekend the U-18's managed a tie against two squads that are basically competing for second place in the overall Provincial Challenge Cup League. On Saturday the U-18's took Mount Pearl to a scoreless draw. On Sunday the U- 18's held the Feildians to a 1-1 score. What amazes me is why this team won't back down from their opponents. Is it a fact that the senior teams don't play physical against these younger kids or the senior teams can't run for the entire 90 minutes with the younger legs of the U-18's? Maybe, it's simply that our senior teams of today are a lot weaker than in years when the Canada Games would compete in the senior league and wouldn't get a look in. To be quite honest, I'm not so sure that by the Challenge Cup League allowing all four teams to make the play-offs, that this format is any good for regular league games. Personally, if I had my way with a four team provincial league,it would be set up so you would have a 24 game schedule. After the completion of 12 games, the fourth place team would be relegated to the intermediate league. This would be followed with three teams playing the remaining 12 game schedule vying for the top two positions. Then finally on Labour Day weekend you would have the top two teams play off in a one game Provincial Championship Showdown. This schedule would generate interest. Every game would be very meaningfull and it wouldn't be the calibre of what I'm witnessing this season.

In today's contest there were two beautiful goals. Both were set up by their respective midfield's .Zack Hynes opened the scoring at the 7 minute mark for the Feildians. Then at the 14 minute it was Aarron Anstey knotting it up at 1-1 . Anstey's goal gives him six on the season, and it ties him for the league scoring with the Feildians, David Webb and Mount Pearl's, Justin Pickford. Both teams played fairly even. Both goalkeepers made a couple of great saves but during the last 10 minutes of the contest, it was the Feildians who pushed hard. But it was a little to late to get motivated as when the final whistle blew both teams were awarded 1 point for their effort.