Juggernauts open with exhibition win
The St. Marys Men’s Soccer Club kicked off the 2008 season with an
exhibition game and the Tillsonburg tournament this past weekend.
On Thursday, April 24, a combined Juggernaut/Spartan squad hosted Exeter and
defeated them 4–0. Both teams got off to a slow start, being the first game
of the season.
However, in the second half, St. Marys went to work and scored four goals.
Derek Hartman, Sam Seddon, Stan Rock and Harm Vosters were the marksmen.
Tillsonburg tournament
The 2nd Division Juggernauts then travelled to Tillsonburg on the weekend to
compete in a tournament that featured 36 teams.
In pool action, the locals defeated both Stratford and Strathroy 2-0, and
lost to the London White Eagles 4-0.
St. Marys expected a tough game against Stratford, however, it never
materialized and goals from strikers Darryl Thompson and a penalty shot by
Kevin Thompson sealed the victory.
The locals got goals from Mike Weersink and Kevin Thompson, who again sealed
the victory, in the Strathroy match.
In the final game of the round-robin, St. Marys played premier team London
White Eagles and expected a very tough match, although both teams knew they
had made it to the final round of 16.
The first half was the best soccer the team has played in many years, coach
John Flanagan noted. Juggernauts grew as a team in the first half as they
battled to keep the game scoreless against the well seasoned and mature
London team.
In the second half, the display of soccer was less to be desired as the
diving and whining entered the game and the referee was not prepared to
handle the situation and fell to the opposition tactics.
After White Eagles opened the scoring, Juggernauts lost some fight and then
the game, 4-0.
“It was a game we learned we can play some very good soccer, however, our
maturity in handling the seedier side of soccer needs to grow,” commented
coach Flanagan.
“We did lose focus. What may have contributed was that it was a meaningless
game. Overall, we grew as a team and learned something that will only help
us in the future,” he added.
Defensive errors costly
On Sunday, Juggernauts drew the World Hungarians out of Cambridge and lost
the game 2-1. As a result, they were knocked out of advancing further.
Cambridge took the early lead on a defensive error.
St. Marys drew even after Kevin Thompson scored on a penalty shot as a
result of Angus Moylan getting taken down inside the 18-yard box.
Before the first half ended, the Hungarians scored again on a defensive
breakdown in the Juggernaut third of the field to score the eventual winner.
“We certainly had the edge in play, however, Cambridge had a good back-line
and forwards who made us pay for our errors,” coach Gord Moylan reported.
“We certainly are not worried as we know this is still early in the season
and the tournament was there for us to work out the bugs. The team is
certainly an improved version from last season and we are looking forward to
a good 2008 season.”
The team is still recruiting for two to three players and a goalkeeper. If
anyone is interested, please contact the team.
Please advise by contacting coaches John Flanagan (284-3234) or Gord Moylan
(284-1318), or email; stmarysjuggernauts@hotmail.com.
Upcoming: Next up for the Juggernauts and Spartans is a home-and-home series
versus Strathroy’s two teams.
St. Marys visits Strathroy on Thursday, May 1, and Strathroy returns to St.
Marys on Sunday, May 4.
Games at Meadowridge field are at  4 p.m. and 6 p.m.