BY SCOTT
HADDOW
The Sudbury Panhellenic Women's squad had modest goals at the
start of their 2006 season.
Competing in the Ontario Women's Soccer League (OWSL)
Central Division for the first time, the club went on a tear
all season which culminated when they took first overall in the
highly competitive loop.
At the start of the season, the ladies thought winning a few
games and maybe forging an even record would be a realistic
goal.
It didn't happen that way at all.
The women tore into the league like storm troopers, going
undefeated in their first 14 games. In that span, they rang up
11 wins and three ties.
At times, they looked unbeatable.
As the season dragged on, the squad was forced to go the
remaining final games with a depleted roster. Many of the women
had to vacate to go play for their university teams.
They dropped a few of the final games, but still managed to
win their final two games and sew up first place.
Overall, they finished with a record of 16-3-3, good for 51
points. In second place, was their rival, Aurora, who finished
with 49 points.
Individually, the club had great success. Striker Liane
Villano topped the squad with 13 goals, which tied her for
fifth overall in the league.
Goalkeeper Erin Persi had five shutouts, which tied her for
second overall in the league.
"Earning first spot seemed impossible at the end of the
year," said head coach Joe Persi. "It still seems unreal for a
Sudbury Panhellenic team that was just looking to break even in
the win-loss column. Winning has been a surprise."
The women were inspiring all season.
"The team gritted it out all year, with big comebacks and
wins even when we were short-handed," said Persi.
The squad needed a big boost for one of their final matches,
against Aurora, to win and grab first.
Weeks earlier, with a small squad, the women were hammered 8-0
by Aurora. Another loss to them would have been catastrophic.
"Having Laura Mirabelli and Gillian Dumencu drive back from
their southern Ontario universities was an inspiration," said
Persi. "One more time, the team pulled out a big win, beating
Aurora 4-0."
The women were ecstatic with the results.
"We proved a lot," said fullback Laura Simms. "It felt great
to take first place. We didn't expect it at all. It was our
first year in the division, so we were looking to win a few
games, not take first overall. It's a great accomplishment and
says a lot about the girls on the team. We did it by pulling
together and working hard. Every game, we just got better and
better."
The 4-0 win over Aurora was singed into the girls' minds.
"Earlier in the season, we had played Aurora and they beat
us bad...8-0," said Simms. "They came up here at the end, and
we beat them 4-0. We let them know we were a strong team.
Getting revenge on them made us happy."
By taking first overall, the team has the option of advancing
to the Provincial Elite level next summer. It has been
undetermined if the club will pursue this course.
"A lot of our girls play university soccer," said Simms. "It
was hard to find girls to play in August because of university
commitments. We were struggling. We probably will end up
playing in the Sudbury Women's Soccer League next year. We will
go into a few tournaments though."
Over the winter, the club will figure out which option will
be the best. Two other paths that will be considered will be
whether to have two women's teams - one competing in Sudbury
and the other at the provincial level. The other is staying in
the Central Division and declining the promotion. Only time
will tell.
