BY SCOTT
HADDOW
The Lo-Ellen junior boys' soccer team were a juggernaut at the
2007 NOSSA junior AA championship.
Big, strong and experienced, the Knights flexed these muscles
in order to win the Northern Ontario crown by thumping
Widdifield school from North Bay 6-0 in the final at Hillcrest
Field in Lively this week.
Lo-Ellen racked up a 4-1 record in the regular season and smashed their way through the city championships, destroying St. Charles 9-1 in the city championship game.
Coach Steve Ball saw his real team at NOSSA.
"The guys played well all year, despite some rough areas, but
they put it all together in the city final and now the NOSSA
final," said Ball. "They showed they can really play this
game...they came through with their strongest performance at
NOSSA."
Tomi Pollard, Alex Lisowski, Mark Bamberger, Stephane Jacques,
Tanner Negusanti and Alex Bourdon all scored for Lo-Ellen.
'"We are really proud of this team," said Ball. "We had some
really strong players, who made the difference against the
North Bay team, who was fairly young. We had bigger players
with a higher level of skill and they came through...they
controlled the game."
The Knights had the NOSSA trophy burning on all four elements
this season.
"We were gunning for the NOSSA title all year long," said
player Josh Haslam. "We weren't going to settle for being
second best in Sudbury or Northern Ontario. It means a lot to
win NOSSA because our school hadn't won a title in a long time
in junior boys' soccer."
Lo-Ellen has everyone firing on all cylinders in the NOSSA
final.
"It was a total team effort to win," said player Stephane
Jacques. "We thought we would win, but not by that much. We
knew we were a strong team and we were prepared. The whole team
has great enthusiasm and everyone wants to contribute
something."
Beating Widdifield was systematic.
"We were just the better team," said Pollard.
"We passed the ball around better and we were faster. We had
great touch around the net and when we got our opportunities,
we capitalized on them. This win is great for our confidence.
Most of the team is in Grade 10 and we move up to the senior
level next year. Leaving junior as Northern champs is great and
we should be a force to be reckoned with for years to come."
The bottom line on the Knights junior boys' soccer team is they
know how to win.
"These guys get along well and never lay blame when things
don't go their way," said Ball. "When the time comes, they know
how to step up and get the job done and win. We can't doubt
their efforts at all...even the guys on the bench. They play to
win."
