NLSA Molson Challenge Cup



Thursday, December 27, 2012

Gord's Top Ten Highlights in 2012


 
 
Hope You Enjoy !!!
 
 


# 1 - Angus Barrett Gets Inducted into CSA Hall of Fame --- 2012

Angus Barrett & CSA President
 
 
Angus Barrett was inducted into the CSA Hall of Fame at a ceremony held in Ontario in May.
Angus  has been involved in soccer since the late 1950’s,  He is only the second Newfoundlander to be inducted into the CSA Hall of Fame. Gus Etchegary, originally from St. Lawrence, is the only other Newfoundlander who has been bestowed such honor.

Provincial , Angus Barrett has been awarded :
Honorary Life membership in the Newfoundland and Labrador Soccer Association
Inducted into the Newfoundland and Labrador Soccer Hall of fame.

Locally, Angus has been inducted into :
The Mount Pearl Soccer Hall of Fame
The Mount Pearl Sports Hall of Fame
The St. John’s Soccer Hall of Fame

Coach Corner's Comments : A great guy that has been involved with every aspect of the sport and still is . He has been a player, a coach, a official, a super volunteer, an NLSA President and a fan of the game. What furthermore impresses me is, a very honorable man who is he is a true gentleman and a " Super Ambassador" for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. 


# 2 - NLSA Hall of Fame Inductees ------ 2012

Front Row: Dave Legrow, Clayton Welsh (daughter), Pat Fleming
Back Row: Kevin Pittman, Ron Price, Chris Facey, Tom Tarrant , Johnny Hearn (missing)
 
 
The Class of 2012 Hall of Fame Inductees were a great group that all contributed greatly to the development of soccer in Newfoundland. Over the past three and sometimes four decades, all of these people could be seen  at the field in various capacities to help develop the the game.
 
Coach's Corner comments: I know each one of these inductees personally and to see  the motion they expressed and the character show at the induction ceremonies made me to very proud to be teammates of Jeff Babsock - Hall of Fame Chair and Angus Barrett on the NLSA  Hall of Fame selection committee.


# 3 - Mount Pearl Soccer Celebrates its 40th Anniversity --------2012

 
Mount Pearl Hall of Fame Inductes
 Front Row : Walt Mavin, Ed Moyst, Andrew Moyst
                Back Row: MPSA President - Jeff Tiller, Dave Legrow, Gerry O`Brien,  
 Paul Miller  and HOF Chair - Ron  O`Neil
 
In 2012, Mount Pearl celebrated it`s 40th year of playing soccer. Throughout the year they celebrated this occasion and the did it in fine form . There two events that mostly caught my eye. They had a soccer match that was played for 40 hours. This was a tremendous and a great promotion for their cause. Then there was there Hall of Fame Banquet which inducted a great bunch of fellows into their Hall of Fame . I like the fact that that the HOF committee saw fit to induct their 1st Honary Life Time member , Ed Moyst.
 
Coach`s Corner comments: My hat has to goes of to the two co-chairs of the 40th Anniversary celebrations, Ed Moyst and Mike Mooney. Both of guys did an excellent job and I`m sure you presence will be found when Mount Pearl celebrates it`s 50th celebrations.  

# 4 - Holy Cross - "Now a Dynasty" ---------- 2012

Holy Cross - Challenge Cup Champions
 
Holy Cross won their 4th consecutive Provincial Challenge Cup in 2012. They are now a "Dynasty" when your talking about Challenge Cup soccer in Newfoundland. They are very dominant in all aspects of the game. They are a very skillful team and well trained. Again this season they totally dominated their opponents in the win/lose column and they haven't lost a play-off match in four years.
 
Coach's Corner Comment's : This squad is a good team but their lack of success again at the Nationals in Winnipeg in 2012 keeps this team grounded as being considered one of the better Newfoundland teams of all times. At this point, they are nowhere near  the greatness of the Holy Cross team of the 80's.
 
 


# 5 - Kirby wins 4th Jubilee Trophy ---------- 2012

Holy Cross/ Kirby Group
NLSA 2012 Jubilee Trophy Champions
 
The Kirby Team won it's 4th consective Provincial Jubilee Trophy Championship in 2012. This club has set a new bench mark when it comes to  women's soccer in Newfoundland. For the past four years the Kirby Team has waltzed through both the regular season and the play-offs.  
 
 
Coach's Corner Coments: Yes, this club is a stacked team but so are most contenders that represent their province at the Canadian National Club Championships. In order for this club to be better prepared for the Nationals, they will need to get themselves engaged with some better competition and realistically that may require some travel.

# 6 - St. Lawrence Masters wins Silver Medal --------- 2012

Eastern Canadian Silver Medalist
St. Lawrence Masters
 
 
The St. Lawrence Masters put on a pretty impressive show in 2012. They went undefeated in the NL Provincial Championship in Mount Pearl and defeated  host Mount Pearl in the championship match by a very convincing 4-1 score.  This team then advanced to the finals at the Eastern Canadian Championship, which were played in St. John's and lost to a very powerful team from Quebec on PK's in the championship contest.
 
Coach's Corner comments: Certainly they have a record which is very convincing when it comes to Sr. Men's Soccer for "Team of the Year" honor. No doubt, I have to agree with most people when they say, "that this team was stacked" but the fact of the matter is, most of these players are born and breed "Laurentians." 

# 7 - NL Next Games Team Win The Acropolis Cup : 2012


NL Canada Games Team playng in Italy 


The NLSA Canada Games Men’s team won the 31st annual Acropolis Cup played in Italy. The team defeated Italian club Casalvieri Frosinone 2-1 to take home the silverware. Jordi Slaney opened the scoring in the 10th minute and Josh Hanrahan increased the lead early in the second half but the Italians answered back midway in the second half to set up an exciting finish.

Coach's Corner Comments:  The  Acropolis tournament was a great tournament for our next NL Canada Games to compete in.  The tournament gave our NL games coaches Mike Power and Paul Slaney the opportunity to take a look at the teams current roster. The games and the winning gave the players the opportunity to gel and experience the feeling of winning. Actually, I'm looking forward to watching this team compete in the Provincial Challenge Cup on an exhibition basis in 2013.


 

# 8 Steve Delong --------- 2012 : NLSA's Sr. Men's Best Player

Steve Delong
 
Steve Delong's first year of Challenge Cup Soccer in Newfoundland will be a memorable one. The diminutive player, who hails from Saskatchewan, is a gifted goal-scorer and Holy Cross benefited from his talents. He was named to the Provincial  All -Star team, won League MVP, and was voted NLSA's Sr. "Player of the Year" . He won the Wils Molloy "Golden Boot Award" for winning the scoring championship with 21 goals. He netted two more goals at the Nationals in Winnipeg. His winning goal against Nova Scotia was a beauty. It was scored in the dying seconds of the match and it allowed Holy Cross to advance to the National Quarter Finals.
 
 
Coach's Corner Comments : Steve had a great 1st year of Challenge Cup soccer in NL. Despite his 21 goals , he is sort of a  "silent player" on the field but very a gifted sniper  in the box and on the score sheet.

# 9 Malorie Harris ----- 2012 : NLSA's top female soccer player

Malorie Harris
 
Malorie Harris was NLSA's premier female player again in 2012. She lead both her team and the Jubilee Trophy league in goalscoring- 14 goals. Malorie was an All -Star, the leagues MVP and was named NLSA Sr. Female Player  of the Year.


Coach's Corner Comments :  I feel Malorie's talents on the field  makes her the second best female to ever play the sport of soccer in Newfoundland. She is second only to Laura Breen  


==========

# 10 ---------- 2012 Micquelon wins Provincial "A" Intermediate Champions

 Miquelon -ASM
 
 
Members of the Miquelon -ASM championship team include:
 Axel Detcheverry, Franck Detcheverry, Florian Autin, Thibault Detcheverry, Steve Epaule, Meric Poirier, Gael Coste, Thomas Girardin, Nicolas Lemaine, Mickael Lucas, Ivan Dos Santos, Killian Boissel, Kevin Mathiaud, Loic Gaspard, Alexandre Girardin, Dylan Detcheverry, Jean-Noel De Lizarraga, Gino Bonnieul, Miguel Tesniere, coach Gino Bonnieul and assistant coach Yannick Poirier.
 
 
Intermediate "A" Champs

ASM from Miquelon, won the 2012 Molson Provincial Intermediate male soccer championships this past summer in Conception Bay South.Two late goals gave ASM a 3-1 “A” title victory over Grand Bank GeeBees. Loic Gaspard and Florian Autin scored for the French team at 70 and 73 minutes to break a 1-1 tie. Nicolas Lemaire had the opening ASM goal and Kurt Warren of Grand Bank scored the lone Gee Bee's goal.
 
Coach's Corner Comments : The NLSA Provincial Intermediate Mega Tournament continues to grow in leaps and bounds with teams coming from all around the province. In 2012 we had six teams from the Avalon Peninsula , two from the Burin Peninsula and two from our neighbouring French islands.
The tournament has a good level of soccer with a number of the participants certainly having the skill to play at the Challenge Cup level. In 2012, it was great to see both St. Pierre and Micquelon having good soccer competitive teams.
In 2013 the BPSA play host to the NLSA Provincial Intermediate Tournament.

           
 


Monday, December 24, 2012

Friday, December 14, 2012

Merry Christmas to all !!



A very merry Christmas to all you.

At this festive time it is worth making the effort to thank all the people who visit the site.
Again, The great thing about soccer is that despite the fact that we all believe we would be great coaches, all believe we know what players do right and wrong, all believe we know how the game should be played, all believe our opinions about players, refereeing decisions, suspensions, goals, saves and games are absolutely right, we are all drawn together in an unfettered love of the game.
We can disagree about absolutely everything and yet we are united within the soccer family. I may have completely different opinions about the game than you and we might even be able to have heated debates and argue about tiny details, but if you love the game, I have a lot more in common with you than I don’t.

This is the time of the year when soccer takes a back seat and family and friends come first.  I really do wish soccer fans everywhere a very happy, healthy and safe Christmas.

Cheers
Gord Dunphy