VAUGHAN, ON — In the second match of Sunday’s Ontario Cup Finals on the Ontario Soccer Centre’s sun-drenched but cooling turf field, the North York Spartacus met the Ajax Thunder 1996 to decide the U15 Boys Tier 1 Provincial Champion.
Both sides hit the turf running on the way to a very fast-paced game.
The play see-sawed back and forth with both sides attacking and defending well when, in the 25th minute, #13 Derek Cornelius received the ball in front of the Thunder net, dribbled through a group of defenders to the left-hand side of the net and sent the ball past the Ajax keeper.
The remainder of the half saw a few chances for both sides with most of the action in the Ajax end and North York controlling most of the play, but the scoreboard stood at 1-0 for Spartacus when the half-time whistle blew.
The beginning of the second half slowed down a bit compared with the first, with both teams taking their time and concentrating on smooth passes and strong plays as Ajax looked to find the equalizer and get back into the game.
But Spartacus spoiled their efforts with a second goal in the 51st minute when a ball came from the far right corner and #3 Christian DiPastena picked it up just inside the Thunder box and fired a straight low shot past the keeper.
Consolidating control, North York scored their third goal of the game in the 60th minute when #12 Owen Edgar found himself in sniper position on a beautifully placed corner-kick which Edgar popped into the right side of the net.
As the clock wound down, Ajax showed grit and determination as they attempted to claw their way back from a 3-0 deficit.
Their efforts were rewarded in the 81st minute when #8 Jake Cooper volleyed off a corner-kick to put the Thunder on the scoreboard 3-1.
Another miracle come-back for an Ajax team was not meant to be on this day, however, and the North York Spartacus were crowned Ontario Cup Champions.
Final Score:
North York Spartacus 3 v 1 Ajax Thunder 1996