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www.insideHALTON.com |OAKVILLE BEAVER |Thursday, April 27, 2017 |48 Blue Devils hoping to bounce back to championship form in '17 By Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver staff W hen the Oakville Blue Devils entered Leaguel Ontario two years ago, they boldly predicted they would contend for the league championship. It might have sounded overly optimistic for a first-year franchise but the Blue Devils followed through. N ot only did they claim the title, they took down the Quebec champion as well to win the Inter-Provincial Cup. W ith m uch of the same lineup return ing for a second season, it was not a stretch for the Blue Devils to assume more success would follow. Instead, the Blue Devils won just eight of 2 2 games -- after winning 17 in their in augural season -- and finished sixth in the conference. "We had serious injury problems," said Blue Devils coach Duncan Wilde. "It did give a great opportunity for some young players but it doesn't give you any consistency week to week when your lineup is always changing." There is no magic remedy for injuries, though the Blue Devils could reasonably expect to use less than the 50 players that suited up for the team last season. But Wilde is not willing to blame all the team' s woes on injuries. "There was also some complacency," he 2015 Leaguel MVP Filipe Velila (9) and his Oakville Blue Devils teammates hope to put a subpar season behind them when the team opens the season April 30 at Sheridan College vs. Sigma FC. "We want to bring the title back to Oakville," Velila said. | File photo by Graham Paine - Oakville Beaver said. "We sat down and did a post-mortem on the season and there was nothing that re ally shocked anyone." Wilde and his staff were anything but complacent. They went out and signed the league' s reigning keeper of the year, Matt George. His former team, Woodbridge, was the only team in the league to allow less than a goal per game. George was not deterred by the Blue Devils' performance last season and looks forward to playing a role in their return to the top. "Coming to a team with their pedigree is a dream come true," said George, who played in Hungary and England after graduating from Laurentian University. "It' s more of a challenge knowing where they came from, but it was an opportunity I couldn't say no to." Helping him shore things up in the Blue Devils' end will be defender La Twayne An derson, who played in Lithuania last season. He didn't plan on playing this year, but with a new pro league starting in Canada next year the Brampton native saw the potential for both himself and the team to benefit. "I have some experience at higher levels so I can bring what I've learned," he said. "I still have a passion for it and now that I'm here I'm definitely excited. I've got an oppor tunity in my hands." Returning players are also looking forward to putting the Blue Devils back on top when they open the season Sunday, April 30 (4 p.m .) at Sheridan College against Sigma FC. "I'm very optimistic. Everybody' s on the same page," said 2 0 1 5 Leaguel MVP Filipe Velila. "Last year we weren't the big family we were in the first year." "After games (the first year) we would get together, talk about what we did well, what we needed to improve. It was pretty easy go ing," said captain Taylor McNamara, "But it' s difficult when things are not going well. We weren't as close knit. W e want to rectify that and put last year behind us." W hile the Blue Devils struggled last sea son, their under-21 squad didn't. It won the Ontario Soccer League Under-21 Elite Divi sion title. A number of the U 21 team' s key players will graduate to the Blue Devils this season, including midfielder Logan Podrebarac, the league' s MVP, Matt Santos, the Golden Boot winner with 20 goals in 16 games, David Monk, the league's top keeper, and Alex Zis, the MVP of the Ontario university champi onship game. Zis and Monk will join fellow Oakville natives M acca Wilde, who finished third in team scoring last year, Anthony Doran and Blake Jones, while the team' s Halton ties ex tend with Podrebarac, Santos and Colin Ed wards hailing from Burlington. The U 21 grads join a strong group that includes midfielder Khody Ellis, a year-end second team all-star, as well Vilela and de fender Al Jam es, who were starters in the league' s all-star game. "We want to bring the title back to Oakville," Velila said. McNamara says the team has too m uch pride to allow a repeat of last season. "I'm still playing thanks to Duncan and (as sistant coach) Billy (Steele). 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