Advertisement 1

Simcoe Sabres win second-place final at Gemini Cup

Article content

Simcoe Composite scored a clutch injury-time goal Friday to send their Gemini Cup second-place final soccer game to a shootout.

Advertisement 2
Story continues below
Article content

The Sabres then outscored the host Glendale HS Gemini boys 4-2 to win it. Tyler Hofland scored the fourth and deciding goal.

Article content

“The whole tournament’s great because we get to play teams that we don’t see in our regular season,” said Simcoe coach Caron Goodlett, noting they finished 6-0 in their league leading up to a May 9 playoff opener. “Normally it’s just Brant-Haldimand-Norfolk.

“So the whole purpose here today was just to have fun and get to play different teams. It’s not part of our regular season so it’s just some extra fun.

“Everyone gets to play, everyone gets chances.”

And everyone experienced a bit of drama in the final 10 minutes of the second-place championship game.

“That was crazy,” Goodlett laughed. “It was fun.”

Advertisement 3
Story continues below
Article content

Simcoe Composite goalie Ethan DeLong makes a first-half save Friday during the Gemini Cup playing against host Glendale HS. CHRIS ABBOTT/Norfolk and Tillsonburg News
Simcoe Composite goalie Ethan DeLong makes a first-half save Friday during the Gemini Cup playing against host Glendale HS. CHRIS ABBOTT/Norfolk and Tillsonburg News jpg, TN

Simcoe had taken a 1-0 lead early in the second half on a goal by Zach Lingard. Time was running out when Glendale equalized at 1-1 on a corner-kick play, and suddenly led 2-1 a minute later scoring off a rebound, seven minutes before the end of regulation.

“I think they (Simcoe) looked deflated when we scored,” said Gemini co-coach Andrew Sykes.

In stoppage time, however, Simcoe’s Alex Jacobs scored to tie it up at 2-2, hitting a low shot into the left corner to send it to a shootout.

Glendale boys had opened the Gemini Cup with a 1-0 win over London South. St. Thomas St. Joe’s edged Glendale 2-1, and Glendale defeated Aylmer East Elgin 3-1 to close out the round robin 2-1, second in their pool.

“All of our games were really close this year,” said Sykes.

Advertisement 4
Story continues below
Article content

Glendale HS and Simcoe Composite met Friday in the second-place Gemini Cup championship game. CHRIS ABBOTT/Norfolk and Tillsonburg News
Glendale HS and Simcoe Composite met Friday in the second-place Gemini Cup championship game. CHRIS ABBOTT/Norfolk and Tillsonburg News jpg, TN

Simcoe Composite tied Ingersoll 1-1, lost 2-0 to St. Thomas Parkside, and defeated London Lucas 1-0 to finish 1-1-1 in the round-robin.

“It’s just nice to have the Gemini Cup again,” said Sykes. “It was off for a couple years because of Covid, obviously, and it has actually rained out before. So we’re glad to get it back and running. It’s always good to use these facilities here – some people don’t understand how good Tillsonburg Soccer Park is. I’ve travelled around a lot of parks in southern Ontario, and this is a good one.

“Honestly, I couldn’t have imagined a better day,” said Sykes, pleased with the quality of the tournament. “All the teams came bright and early, the refereeing was good, the weather… it was a little subpar – it was windy.”

Tillsonburg’s Glendale HS Gemini boys soccer team finished the round-robin 2-1 Friday in the Gemini Cup. CHRIS ABBOTT
Tillsonburg’s Glendale HS Gemini boys soccer team finished the round-robin 2-1 Friday in the Gemini Cup. CHRIS ABBOTT jpg, TN

The Gemini boys, 0-2 to open in the TVRA South-East division, have a veteran varsity team this year.

“We took a few juniors, but the vast majority is made up of Grade 12s,” said Sykes, who coaches with Laisa Gillis.. “It is kind of sad for the Grade 12s because we haven’t had a team in the last couple of years and this is kind of their last (Gemini Cup) rodeo.”

cabbott@postmedia.com

Article content
Comments
You must be logged in to join the discussion or read more comments.
Join the Conversation

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.

Latest National Stories
    News Near Tillsonburg
      This Week in Flyers