While many were relaxing and lazing about this Civic long weekend, the Muskoka United Football Club (MUFC) U17 Boys were putting in hard work in the nation’s capital.
Competing at the Champions Showcase in Ottawa, the team finished with a silver medal in the U18/U17 Copa division and showed that there is a bright and competitive future for soccer in Muskoka.
Led by coach Brendan Rasmussen and team manager Meagan Rasmussen (assistant coach Andre Smith unfortunately was unable to attend), the boys started the tournament on Saturday morning with a 1-0 win over Vaughan SC.
A tight affair saw goalkeeper Alex Rasmussen keep a clean sheet with several solid saves and the whole team put in a great shift in front of him. Late in the match, Dante Occhiuzzi was taken down in the penalty area, and the ref pointed to the spot.
Having earned the penalty, Occhiuzzi calmly stepped up and buried the winning goal into the bottom right corner.
The second match saw the MUFC boys in tough against Wexford, who were a year older, and eventually the game ended 2-2 in a chippy affair. Alasdair Wilson netted both goals for Muskoka.
The team’s final group match was a must-win to ensure they had a place in Monday’s final. MUFC came out firing on all cylinders and within the first 10 minutes Aiden Smith and Wilson had found the score sheet.
Wilson eventually finished with a hat trick, while Occhiuzzi added one in a 5-1 victory.
On Monday, the boys were in tough against a very solid York Jets team that had waltzed through their group, scoring three goals a game while allowing only two total throughout.
Despite leaving every last bit of energy on the field and receiving an MVP performance by Alex Rasmussen in net, MUFC were defeated 1-0.
While they didn’t get gold, the boys were hardworking and one of the organizers mentioned that they were the first Muskoka team in at least a decade to reach a final at this tournament (likely the first ever to do so, but that wasn’t confirmed by publishing time).
As well, the tournament referees mentioned to our team staff that the U17 Boys were respectful and showed good sportsmanship.
On that note, this tournament had tremendous match officials – the referees were fair and consistent and firm when they had to be, which made for well-played matches and an overall great experience for the teams.
The boys representing Muskoka in Ottawa along with Occhiuzzi, Wilson, Smith, and Rasmussen were Oscar Juszczak, Carter Imrie, Lucas Hills, Lucas Young, Daniel Fronte, Wesley Janas, Radhesh Patel, Rohgan Coyne, Jackson Thomas, Beckett Raglin, Brett Harland, Theo Briand, and Henry Sansom.
I-Model Results
Perhaps the U17 Boys were looking ahead to the showcase tournament too much, because they didn’t have the best I-Model C2 Division performance mid-week leading into it. The team fell 5-1 at home against Thornhill with Wilson scoring the lone MUFC tally.
The U17 Boys’ next match is an away game at IFC on August 7.
The U15 Boys on the other hand played an excellent match away to Stouffville and were a bit unlucky to drop a 2-1 result. Kyliam Coulombe scored for Muskoka in the loss.
The U15 Boys next match is at home to Thornhill on August 6 at Gostick Park in Bracebridge.
HDSL Results
The U15 Girls, playing in a U16 division, fell 4-1 against Collingwood on July 28 at Gostick Park.
Andi Stevenson scored the only goal for Muskoka as she tops the whole Huronia District Soccer League (HDSL) division with 12 goals. Their next match is on August 11 away to North Bay.
The U14 Girls had a bye week last week. Their next match is at Barrie in the HDSL Cup on August 6.
The U12 Girls played a solid match on July 30 at Pollington Field in Huntsville but fell 2-1 to Barrie White. The lone goal was scored by Poppy Moyer.
The U11 Girls were on a bye week last week. Their next match is on August 11 at Bradford.
The U9 Girls had a forgettable night on July 29, falling 8-0 to Barrie at Pollington Field. They’ll look to bounce back on August 12 in North Bay.
The U14 Boys are on a pair of bye weeks. They next take the pitch in North Bay on August 12.
The U12 Boys tied the Bradford Wolves 2-2 on July 29 at Gostick Park. Blake Bourdon and Braeden Jeffries scored for MUFC. They host North Bay at Pollington Field on August 12.
The U11 Boys fell 2-0 away to Wasaga Beach on July 31. The travel to Innisfil on August 14 for their next match.
The U10 Boys lost 5-1 in Alliston against South Simcoe United on July 28. Jacob Repath scored the only goal for Muskoka.
The U9 Boys took a tough 1-0 loss at Barrie on July 30. Their next match is home to Barrie at Pollington Field on August 13.
The Over 45 men’s team fell 1-0 away to Nottawasaga on July 31 as they fell out of first place for the first time all season.
Missing several players and then suffering a few injuries mid-game, the Muskoka men fought as hard as they could but eventually their opponents found the winning goal late in the match.
Huntsville Women’s League
In what was a tremendous overall season, On The Docks Pub were crowned Huntsville Women’s League champions on July 28.
After dusting away Muskoka Marshmallo Company 4-0 in the semi-finals, the soon-to-be 2025 champions faced an unexpected foe in the final.
The SportLab took down the previously unbeaten Muskoka Tea Company in penalty kicks after the regulation time ended with the match knotted at one a piece.
Muskoka Tea Company then again fell in penalties in the third place match against Muskoka Marshmallo Company. It was a tough playoff night for a team that still did not suffer a regulation time loss all season long.
In the title match, On the Docks Pub scored very late to secure a 1-0 win over the SportLab in match that featured a lot of tough defending.
Player of the Match awards for the playoff night went to Rachel Marmer, Anne McNally, Emily Lamb and Paola Escobar.
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