Under-15 Stingers fight back for exciting McGarrigle Cup fi nal

August 17, 2016 · 0 Comments

By Jake Courtepatte

Penalty kicks determined the best under-15 soccer team in York Region, but Aurora fought hard to get there.

Facing off against Darlington in the McGarrigle Cup on Saturday in Keswick, Aurora had the better of the play immediately. But it was Darlington that opened the scoring, sending a long strike into the top of the net just over ten minutes in.

Darlington took the 1 – 0 lead into the second half, before doubling it by converting on a corner kick just minutes into the frame.

Aurora stormed back with about twenty minutes to go on a fast break by Ethan Yeong, squeaking it by the keeper to cut the deficit to one.

Ryan MacDonald tied the game in the dying minutes with a low shot off the woodwork, sending the game to penalties.

Both teams were successful in scoring on their first two attempts, with the first denial coming on Aurora’s third shot. After being denied again on the fourth, Aurora gave up the game when Darlington scored on their fifth and final attempt.

Despite the heartbreaker, head coach Stephen Martino said the boys have come a long way in a short time.

“Last year the boys finished 7th out of 11 in the league so this has been a bit of a special turnaround for this group,” said Martino. “With only two games left for us to play they have secured a top-two finish, which should be good enough for promotion into the higher division, which is the Central Soccer League.”

The team currently sits atop the York Region Soccer League standings with eleven wins and only one loss, scoring a league-high 55 goals in the process. Yeong leads the league with 19 goals, while MacDonald led McGarrigle Cup scoring with six.