Bluevale, Cameron Heights move on to final
KITCHENER — Justin Rosner is fine with the label.
The Bluevale Knights captain actually brought up the term on his own Tuesday, minutes after his team’s 2-0 extra-time victory over the Eastwood Rebels in Waterloo County boys high school soccer playoff game at Woodside Park. Logan Dunlop scored in the 100th minute and Ogi Ivanovic scored with three minutes to play to settle the thrilling encounter between two teams that left everything on the pitch.
The victory propels the Knights into Thursday afternoon’s WCSSAA final (RIM Park, 3 p.m.) against the Cameron Heights Golden Gaels, who downed the Sir John A. Macdonald Highlanders, 5-2, in the opening half of the semifinal doubleheader.
“They (Eastwood) were the No. 1 seed and we were the No. 4 seed so we were the underdogs today, we’ve been the underdogs all season and I think we’ve been an underdog for quite a while now,” said Rosner, a Grade 12 fullback in his fourth year with the team.
“Not too many think of us as a competitive team in this league so it feels pretty good to go to the finals … if we can finally win a WCSSAA title, that will be the highlight of my Bluevale career.”
Rosner and the Knights came up short against the Forest Heights Trojans in the 2014 WCSSAA final and haven’t been back. They did make it to the allOntario (OFSAA) championship the following year at the former triple-A level but did so after losing in the WCSSAA playoffs.
Meanwhile, the Waterloo Collegiate Vikings will face Cameron Heights on Thursday in the WCSSAA girls final (RIM Park, 3 p.m.) after those teams recorded semifinal wins Tuesday. WCI advanced with a 2-0 win over the Grand River Renegades and Cameron Heights outlasted the Preston Panthers 1-0 in the early game.
Eastwood enjoyed a considerable edge in possession against Bluevale but both teams had several glorious chances to score during regular time.
They were either off the mark or Bluevale goalkeeper Pascal Prior and his Eastwood counterpart, Logan Schell, were up to the challenge.
Altin Nezeri came closest to scoring for Eastwood when he ripped a long-range free kick off the crossbar and Jordan White had a great opportunity to score for Bluevale when he headed a ball just over the Eastwood net.
Dunlop’s game-winning goal was the result of a perfect feed from Daniel Ciulei, who lobbed a ball over the Eastwood defence and hit Dunlop in full stride. Dunlop redirected a floater over Schell that wound up in the back of the Eastwood net.
Ivanovic’s strike to make it 2-0 came with Eastwood pushing for the equalizer.
“We had better ball possession and everything, but it just wasn’t our game today,” said Eastwood captain Adi Ponjevic.
“Now we have to go out (Wednesday) and beat (Sir John A. Macdonald). We lost to them once and it won’t happen again.”
Eastwood and SJAM are still alive after Tuesday’s defeats and will meet in a sudden-death game Wednesday for the right to travel to Owen Sound DSS on Thursday and play a qualifying game for next week’s Central Western Ontario (CWOSSA) tournament. Bluevale and Cameron Heights are already in.
Bluevale’s gritty back line of Charlie Traynor, Isaiah Lawson Josh Janzen and Rosner will once again have to be at their best to beat Cameron Heights.
Cameron Heights, which scored a 1-0 win over Bluevale in regular-season play, was in control from the start against SJAM and built a 3-0 halftime lead. Brandon Pereira led the way with three goals, and Butrint Islami and Sharif Ise added singles.
Josh Dhanapala and Manraj Sahota scored for SJAM, which defeated Eastwood 1-0 in regularseason play.
Allison McDowell and Alayna Wallace scored WCI in their upset victory over Grand River, while Anna Wright-Lacatus scored for Cameron Heights against Preston.
Preston and Grand River will meet in a third-place game Wednesday and the winner will take on Owen Sound DSS in a CWOSSA qualifier.
The District 8 boys and girls soccer finals will also be played Thursday, with the Resurrection Phoenix and St. David Celtics meeting in both games.
The girls’ final is at 4 p.m. at St. David Catholic Secondary School and the boys’ final starts at 4 p.m. at Woodside Park.
In girls’ semifinal play, Grace Ciuman, Lauren Thompson, Emma Heaney, Victoria Jensen, and Jocelyn Orellana scored for St. David in a 5-3 win over the St. Mary’s Eagles.
Alex Bassanasc, with two, and Lexi Kroeker replied for St. Mary’s.
Kara Hughes and Laura Goli scored for Resurrection, and Krissa Vasquez notched the shutout, in a 2-0 win over the St. Benedict Saints.
In boys’ semifinal action, Nick Flanagan scored twice and Kahlib Stewart added a single as St. David blanked St. Benedict 3-0. Phillip Wardell had the shutout.
Xavier Gomes stopped everything sent his way in Resurrection’s 2-0 win over St. Mary’s. Mahan Sharifi and Jaxon Matcheski did the scoring.