Dunphy's Corner : St. Lawrence Laurentians are the team to beat in 2017.

DUNPHY'S CORNER 

Gord Dunphy

 St. Lawrence Laurentians have won 25 Championships 

in the 50 year history of NLSA Challenge Cup

==========

 Laurentians again are the favorite in 2017

If early goings of the 2017 season are any indication of what 2017 Molson Challenge Cup season are all about, I predict the St. Lawrence Laurentian's are the team to beat this season. I realize they lost their opening game to Mount Pearl by a 1-0 score but sometimes upsets occur where a team may have a dominating performance and still lose the contest. If early goings are a further indication, it appears Holy Cross maybe still a good team but their loss of coach Jake Stanford and some key players will definitely stop their dominance in league play.   

 Laurentian - Coaching Staff

St. Lawrence are currently led by the best coaching staff in the league with Derek Strang and Paul Slaney at the helm. Derek at times may be very shrewd coach, while Paul only appears to be a mellow dude, he too can add an arm of shrewdness.  However or whatever,  put both of these different personalities together and the Laurentians have proven winners behind their bench.  

                                                                        Laurentians key players

The Laurentians are strong down the middle. They have John Douglas , the best goalie in the league . They have captain Marc Pittman, top defender in the league and Jordi Slaney, who in my estimate is the best midfielder in the Challenge Cup League.  Besides this, the Laurentian have Stefan Slaney who can be their "ACE IN THE HOLE"  if he is physically fit. Personally, I  like Sean Drew. I feel he is the most under-rated player in the league. The Laurentians are very keen in their development process, they continue to develop players such as Adam Kelly , Shane Perrott , Mike Gregory,  Patrick Slaney Jordan Caines, Daniel Carew, Parker Doyle and Brent Hennebury and make them appreciate every minute of playing time they get. 

 2017 - Loses vs Additions

This year the Laurentians may have lost the regular services of future HOF'er Clinton Edwards and journeyman Darren Pike  but they have added some quality players; George Lawton - Former UNB Captain, Mark Breto - Ghana, and  Devon Ryan - former CBS Strikers player . It's really a little early yet for me to give a good assessment of these players who have the honor of wearing one of the most respected amateur soccer jersey in all of Canada. However,  I did like like my first look at George Lawton but only time will tell. These new players will really need to go to St. Lawrence and play on St. Lawrence Day to get a real feel for the Laurentian tradition and what it means to play for this prestigious club.  I also understand that Corey Mullett - former Holy Cross player  is again back wearing the blue and white this year.  Corey can add some debt to the 2017 Laurentians team. 

DEREK STRANG ; PAUL SLANEY 

2017 - St. Lawrence Coaching Duo

     ========================

New Faces 

Laurentian Newcomers - (L) George Lawton - (R) Mark Breto

------------------------

JORDI SLANEY

Jordi Slaney -  All - Star Midfielder

=============

MARK PITTMAN

Mark Pittman - All Star Center Back

===================

JOHN DOUGLAS

John Douglas - All Star Goalie 

=============

SEAN DREW 

Leagues Most Under-rated Player

===============

STEFAN SLANEY 

Laurentians "ACE" Player

Dunphy's Corner - Lets Meet the 2017 CBS Strikers

Gord Dunphy

==============

Challenge Cup - Lets Meet the 2017 Strikers

2017 CBS Strikers - Team Photo 

 Gary Forsyt - Head coach 

Let's Meet Gary Forsyth

Gary Forsyth has been around the block a little to say the least. This is Gary's second stint at being the Head Coach of the CBS Strikers. He definitely brings a lot of enthusiasm to the job and at times may even a little to much - lol !. After bringing the CBS team back into the fold in 2015 after the club was absent from Challenge Cup in 2014 the team is off to a tremendous start in 2017. Last year CBS only managed two draws on the year. This year CBS has 2 wins and 1 tie after three matches. Gary is convinced his team are ready to compete for a play-off position in 2017. He said we are ready to roll some heads and make a little noise this year.  Hopefully, what Forsyt said comes true because the league will only get better with teams competing for the final four. 

Erick Mathiasen : He is a newcomer to CBS and Challenge Cup.

                               Erick came to NL as a foreign student who played at MUN. 
                                He is the man who scored two goals against Holy Cross and 
                                led them to  a 2-1 unset victory in their first game 
                                        of the season in 2017 .

===================================

D'Arcy Bennett : CBS's goalkeeper. Hey , two shut-outs

in his first three games of the season and a 2-1 victory

over Holy Cross, what more can I say than,  "Bennett

is off to a great start after only allowing one goal 

in three starts" .  Keep it up !

 ==========================

(L-R) : #16- Fouad Matar  ----- #6 -Daniel Quinn

 New Faces in CBS 

CBS definitely has a lot of new faces in 2017. Throughout the season we will meet some  more of them on my Blog.  Pictured here are (L-R) : #16- Fouad Matar  ----- #6 -Daniel Quinn. They were the two players who scored for the Strikers in their 2-0 shutout victory over the NL Canada Games team .

 ==========================

2017 Season Outlook by GD

Season Outlook 
by 
Gord Dunphy 

1. CBS will be a different team in 2017 They are very much improved, should compete for 4th.

2. Holy Cross have lost some key players and as a result they will struggle to maintain regular season supremacy.

3. St. Lawrence should finish 1st or 2nd but they lack scoring punch.

4. Feildians are a team who could surprise this year but if they want to gain respect, they must learn to show up on Labour Day Weekend.

5. Mount Pearl will fight for the 1 v 2 position but if I were a betting man , I would give them a 3rd place finish. Offensively and defensive, I like their team, but they need to be more gritty in the middle.

6. Corner Brook loss two games at homes against Feildians in the opening weekend, this tells me that we are looking at 5 - 6 place finish.

7. Canada Games . I will make a bold prediction here and say out of their 18 game exhibition schedule, they will play .500 ball.

Good luck to all!

1st Challenge Cup Weekend Wrap-up : 2017

1st Weekend wrap-up

* Feildians defeat Corner Brook 4 -1 on Saturday and 1-0 on Sunday.

* Corner Brook lose a pair at home to Feildians

* Mount Pearl defeated St. Lawrence on Saturday 1-0 and tied CBS on Sunday 0-0.

* St. Lawrence blanked in their opener by Mount Pearl by a 1-0 score

* CBS defeated Holy Cross by a 1-0 score on Saturday and tied Mount Pearl on Sunday 0 -0.

* Holy Cross shocked by a home opener 2-1 loss to CBS

All - NL Molson Masters B Provincial Champions

78 FC Secunda Canada --  All NL 2016  "B" Master Champions

=====================

All - NL Masters "B" Championship 

78 FC were crowned the All - NL Master Championship s "B" in Marystown this past weekend. Competing in the tournament were, 78 FC, Century 21 and  Dewalt from the St. John's Soccer Association  and host Marystown United.  The championship game turned out to be a thriller with 78 FC defeating Century 21 by a 3 -2 score with John Hogan scoring a pair for the winners.  Century 21 had been undefeated in their three round robin games. Defender, Tom Foran of 78 FC was named the tournament MVP while Bill Lundrigan of Century 21 was named tournament Most Sportsman Like Player.  

Tom Foran / Tournament MVP

Bill Lundrigan / Tournament MSP 

Century 21 / 2016

Marystown United / 2016

 Dewalt / 2016

Laurentians pull of the impossible & are crowned 2016 Challenge Cup Champios

2016 Challenge Cup Champions

Laurentians hoist the Challenge  Cup
25th time in 50 Years  --- Travis Parsons Photo

Laurentian fans : Sea of Blue : Travis Parsons Photo

A beautiful shot of St. Lawrence I took during the play-offs

Soccer : The life of St. Lawrence 

The Flags which fly over St. Lawrence's Centennial Field

It all started in 1967 when the St. Lawrence Laurentians
were
the 1st NLSA Challenge Cup Champs. Thank you guys

2016 All - Stars and Award Winners

2016 ----- Molson Challenge Cup All-Star Team 

All - Star Goalie : Al Slaney Award 

John Douglas : St. Lawrence 

All - Star Defenders

Marc Pittman :St. Lawrence

Clinton Edwards : St. Lawrence 

Kevin Oram : Mount Pearl

Greg Reid : Feildians  

All - Star Midfielders 

Zack Wade : Holy Cross
Owen McAleese : Holy Cross

Mark Reddy : Mount Pearl

Zach Hynes : Feildians

All - Star Strikers 

Stefan Slaney : St. Lawrence 

Tyler Forsey : Mount Pearl

All - Star Coach : Phonse Warren Memorial Award

                                                            Strang : St. Lawrence

=====================

2016 Molson Challenge Cup Award Winners

 Zack Wade :  Regular Season MVP

==================

Bobby Breen Memorial Award: 1st overall in regular season

Holy Cross

Jim Goff Memorial Award : Most Spirited 

Trevor Ivany : CBS

 Ed Moyst Award - Rookie of the Year 

Logan McIsaac : Corner  Brook

Jeff Babstock Award : Top Defender 

Marc Pittman : St. Lawrence 

Johnny Breen Award - Top Midfielder

 Zack Wade :Holy Cross 

Wils Molloy : “Golden Boot Award” : Top Goalscorer 

Stefan Slaney (22) : St. Lawrence

Dick Power Memorial Award : MVP Regular Season

 Zack Wade : Holy Cross

                                                       ====================

2016 Molson Challenge Cup Play-off MVP

                                                                   John Douglas

Gerard Quirke Memorial Award : MVP Playoffs 

John Douglas : St. Lawrence 

Mark Reddy : Molson Player of the Month for August

 Mark Reddy

Molson Challenge Cup Soccer Player of the Month for August is Mark Reddy of Mount Pearl. Mark captured the award solely  because of the great leadership he displayed in the games which Mount Pearl played in August. His ability to lead by his grit and determination shown to his teammates was simply outstanding. It was Mark's 20 years of experience in the league and his personal drive that pushed the Mount Pearl team to clinch 2nd place in the overall standings.

It's Soccer Talk Tonight at 8:30 with Myself & Jonathan Richler

Soccer Talk

Tonight, I will joining Jonathan Richler on Night Line on 8:30 PM and having a little Soccer Talk.

You can listen to our chat on all VOCM stations. In St. John's it's 590 VOCM and on the Burin Peninsula it's 740 CHCM. Tune in !

HOW DO YOU PLAY THE GAME ?

======================

NLSA MOLSON CHALLENGE CUP

NUMBER OF NLSA CHALLENGE CUP CHAMPIONSHIPS = 49

ST. LAWRENCE = 24

HOLY CROSS = 17

BURIN = 2

FEILDIANS = 1

GRAND BANK = 1

LAWN = 1

MARYSTOWN = 1

MOUNT PEARL = 1

NLSA ALL -STARS = 1

 

 

Holy Cross ends the regular season with a win

Holy Cross : 1 vs Mount Pearl : 0

Both teams battled hard.

Wednesday's night's match, which was the last game of the season, was played between Holy Cross and Pearl at KGV.  Statistically, this game didn't have anything on the line with regards to the final seeding. All placings had been decided on Saturday when Holy Cross met Mount Pearl and Mount Pearl walked away with three points.  Watching this mid-week game I was sort of shocked with both Cross and Pearl going at it in hard ball fashion. It was nothing like Saturday's game. Both teams had come to play and and they were both playing for a victory. This wasn't really what shocked it, it was the fashion in how they played. Both were very physical with a lot of pushing and shoving and quite a bit of extra curricula being displayed. These two teams were playing on the edge and even their coaches appeared to be on the edge at times. There is no doubt that both of these teams are starting to build up a dislike each other.  At the 30 minute mark veteran Jon Hawco scored from 25 yards on a nice volley that seemed to handcuff Noseworthy in the Mount Pearl net. Other than that play, Noseworthy was simply outstanding making many a super saves. Mount Pearl at times pressed Holy Cross but they just couldn't seem to penetrate the Holy Cross defense. Mount Pearl's scoring ace, Tyler Forsey,  had gone into the game second in the goal-scoring dept. with 18 goals,  four behind Stefan Slaney of St. Lawrence. Although,  Forsey did have a couple of chances, overall, Cross marked him out of the game. Mount Pearl may had something to do with Forsey's lack of attack themselves, they had him play on the outside,  overall this speedster is most effective in the middle where he can utilize his cougar like runs and dynamic shot.  When the final whistle blew the score remain at 1-0 , both teams now have a great understanding of who they are up against when the same to clubs meet in St. Lawrence in Game 1 of the Challenge Cup finals. It should be a dandy !    

 

Last game of the regular season

Wils Molloy 

The greatest soccer player to ever come out  of Newfoundland . Should have been long induced into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame. Hopefully, it will happen .

------------------------------

Holy Cross and Mount Pearl to close out the regular season

= 

Tonight, Holy Cross will host Mount Pearl in the last game of the regular 72 game Molson Challenge Cup Season. I must admit, I've seen a little bit of everything this year. There have been moments of glory and a few moments of despair. However, I must add, overall, the 2016 Molson Challenge Cup has been a healthy competitive season. First of all, we welcomed the NL Canada Games to the league on a twelve game exhibition. The fruits of this experiment appear to be monumental. We are developing our own kids who will be the future All-star players of the Challenge Cup League.  Both the two relatively newcomers to the league, CBS and Corner Brook,  showed tremendous signs of improvement and competitiveness. As I keep reiterating to some of the critics of those teams, it will be a five / ten year process before those two teams can legitimately contend for the Challenge Cup. One must realize the NLSA is a provincial organization that's full  intent is to have all regions of the province competing in all age groups in minor and senior. Now back to the final game of the season,  I really don't know what to expect here. Both Holy Cross and Mount Pearl are the number one and two seeds this season. Both clubs played on Saturday in Mount Pearl with Mount Pearl coming away with the three points which allowed them to become second seed. Both will meet in game one of the Labour Day Weekend Playoffs. Looking at the stats for the month of August Mount Pearl have outshone Holy Cross. Mount Pearl has a 5 Win - 1 Tie record. While, Holy Cross has a 1 Win - 1 Loss - 3 Tie record. The key to tonight's match is  Mount Pearl will be trying to keep their August streak alive and the momentum going. However, it will be interesting to see if Holy Cross's takes a different approach to their game tonight after losing 1-0 to Mount Pearl on Saturday.       

Weekend Wrap-up Challenge Cup Aug 20 - 21 /16

Mount Pearl : 1  vs  Holy Cross : 0

================

Mount Pearl Clinches 2nd in Standings  

After Challenge Cup weekend action the final placings are in order. Again, to no one's surprise Holy Cross clinched  first. Maybe the biggest surprise of the season is Mount Pearl placing 2nd. But you have to hand it to them. On Saturday Mount Pearl beat the "Big Red Machine" by a score of 1 -0. This was a stunning victory for Mount Pearl. Holy Cross  were huge favorites going into the game. They had 1st place sewed up and they were riding a 19 game undefeated record.  However, despite all of this, Mount Pearl managed to pull off the biggest upset of the season. The large number of fans, whom I spoke with at the field, chatted to me about what they were witnessing.

Mount Pearl's victory secured them  2nd place. Holy Cross will have a rematch against Mount Pearl in the leagues final regular scheduled game which is to be played on Wednesday night. Despite the final game, the final seeding are now set in stone. This sets the stage for the Play-offs on Labor Day Weekend. Holy Cross will again be forced to tangle with Mount Pearl in the 1v2 play-offs in St. Lawrence. The Laurentians will battle it out against the 4th place Feildians. What drama will this further create?

St. Lawrence places 3rd 

In St. Lawrence this weekend the  Laurentians defeated Corner Brook twice. It was 3-0 on Saturday and 4-3 on Sunday. The biggest happening here was Stefan Slaney scored a total of three more goals  putting him at 22 on the season, 4 ahead of Tyler Forsey. However, Forsey has one more game remaining, MP at HC,  and one may never know what could happen.

2016 Challenge Cup Standings
 

Team	Games Played	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals For	Goals Against	+/-	Points
Holy Cross Kirby Group	21	15	2	4	58	18	+40	49
Mount Pearl First Choice Haircutters	21	14	4	3	45	19	+26	45
St. Lawrence Labatt Laurentians	22	13	5	4	53	18	+35	43
Feildians	22	12	7	3	46	30	+16	39
Steers Insurance Corner Brook United	22	2	16	4	21	58	-37	10
CBS That Pro Look Strikers FC	22	0	19	3	7	75	-68	3
NL Canada Games Gerry O'Brien Financial	12	3	6	3	15	27	-12	12*

* Canada Games Team playing on exhibition basis only

Challenge Cup Scoring Leaders

Player	Team	Goals
Stefan Slaney	St. Lawrence	22
Tyler Forsey	Mount Pearl	18
Zach Hynes	Feildians	11
Zach Wade	Holy Cross	9
Aaron Buckingham	Feildians	8
Jake Warren	Holy Cross	8
Mitchell Barry	NL Canada Games/Mount Pearl	8
Logan McIsaac	Corner Brook	7
Tyler Kirby	Holy Cross	7