On Tuesday, May 2, just before kick-off, several players on the Laura Secord Secondary School Patriots soccer team questioned the toughness of students at a military school. RLA’s soccer players took it personally, and proceeded to show Secord just how tough they are by outhustling, outworking, and outplaying the Patriots to a 5-1 victory.
The best chance of the early exchanges fell to Ramiro Torres, who was denied an opening goal by an incredible sliding goal line tackle. However, the Patriots could not keep Ramiro off the scoresheet. A fantastic through ball by Reece Continelli put Ramiro in on goal alone, and the Loyalist striker put the Academy into the lead.
Elias Braun would double the Loyalists’ advantage finishing a scrappy exchange in front of the Patriots’ goalmouth. Shortly thereafter, Bryan Davies would run onto a perfectly placed through ball and lash home another goal for the Academy. After the third goal, Laura Secord appeared shaken by the Academy’s second-half onslaught. The Loyalists would extend its lead to four after Oscar Oceguera’s excellent run down the left led to a Bryan tap in at the back post. Oscar, aided by a combination of the wind, luck, and fantastic skill, would add a fifth for the team with a fantastic Olimpico goal from a corner kick. Although a defensive error would ruin the Academy’s clean sheet, the Loyalists would claim an impressive 5-1 win.
On Thursday the Loyalists hosted the Franco-Niagara Lions at the Welland Young Sportsplex. Having played some tight games with Franco-Niagara in basketball and volleyball this year, the game had more intensity than a typical regular season fixture.
The Loyalists jumped to a quick three-goal lead, leaving the Lions stunned. Ramiro’s curling free kick, a tight angle shot by Bryan, and a good finish from Oscar put Robert Land ahead. The team’s dominant play continued in the early exchanges as the Loyalists played to feet and controlled the ball possession. Bryan’s second goal put the Loyalists up 4-0 midway through the first half. Unfortunately, the Loyalists lost some focus in the latter stages of the half, playing down to the level of their opponents and allowing them to score. While Oscar would score another impressive “Olimpico” goal from a corner, the coaching staff was not impressed with the team’s overall play.
After a good team talk, the Loyalists’ play improved. However, the crossbar denied the Loyalists twice, including a missed penalty from Oscar. Despite the improved play by the Academy, the Lions would claw two goals back to make it 5-3, against the run of play. The better chances continued to fall to RLA. After Reece thundered another shot off the crossbar, several players looked to the heavens wondering how the Loyalists hadn’t extended their lead. With fifteen minutes to play, the Academy finished the Lions off with goals from Ramiro and Oscar to claim a 7-3 victory.
Up next, the Academy travels to Niagara Falls to square off against Stamford on Monday. Having lost to Stamford in the Tier Two finals last year, the Loyalists will hope to exact some revenge.
