40 Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2009 Preparation pays off for Raiders in Ontario Cup final Practice and scouting give U15 boys edge in penalty kicks By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF VAUGHAN -- Darrin Macleod stood on the goal line, needing to make just one more save to deliver an Ontario Cup under-15 tier 1 boys' soccer championship for the Oakville Raiders. Saturday's final at The Soccer Centre marked the first time all season Macleod and his teammates needed penalty kicks to decide a game. Yet, the goalkeeper felt as though he couldn't have been better prepared for the moment. Not only that, he also relished the fact that his team's season was now in his hands. "I love them," he said of "I love (penalty penalty kicks. "I just like that kicks). I just like that you can be a hero, or be a zero." you can be a hero, The Raiders had worked on or be a zero." penalty kicks in practice all season long, just on the off U15 Raiders keeper chance that a situation like Darrin Macleod this might arise. Ed McBride had taken that preparation one step further. Three weeks earlier, the Raiders coach had videotaped the UnionvilleMilliken Strikers' semifinal victory, which had also been decided in penalty kicks. "The top four teams -- Dixie, Unionville, Ajax and ourselves -- the games are always so close, I knew it could come down to this," he said. Macleod had watched that tape and made note of where the Unionville players shot. His homework paid off. After Andrew Sacchetti and Piotr Obrtacz converted both their opportunities from the spot, Macleod made a diving stop to give Oakville a 2-1 lead. Or so it seemed. The referee ruled that Macleod left his line early. The keeper protested in vain and, given a second chance, the Strikers' Benjamin Futoriansky capitalized to again tie it at two. Victor Mauro restored Oakville's advantage, beating the Strikers keeper high on the right side and Macleod responded by diving to his right to deflect Sergio Camargo's shot wide of the post. Up next was Raiders captain Karlo Bobinac, who didn't want to give up the advantage Macleod had just secured for them. "I was extremely nervous," he said. "I used to be horrible at penalties but we've practiced them a lot. I just tried to do it like in practice. I knew where I wanted to go and didn't change my mind." Bobinac caught the Unionville keeper going the wrong way to make it 4-2. Now one save that was all that was needed. Keeper correctly anticipates final shot Unionville's Joseph Penello, one of the shooters Macleod had seen on the video, stepped to the line. Penello fired a hard shot bound for the lower-left corner but before it could reach its destination, it was intercepted by the outstretched hands of MacLeod, who had correctly anticipated the shot and dove to his right. The save brought a rush of teammates streaming toward Macleod. The first to reach the keeper was Tommy Hong, who almost two hours earlier had opened the scoring in the final that would finish deadlocked 2-2 at the end of regulation. Macleod was buried underneath a mountain of teammates, half of them celebrating their second provincial title in three years. Macleod was tested early in the match as he rushed out of his net, forcing Unionville's Jalen Brome to shoot wide on a breakaway. Oakville would respond minutes later when Hong's strike from the top of the box in the 13th minutes found the upper corner, giving Oakville its first of two leads. Unionville would tie the game on a penalty kick in the 28th minute when the Raiders were whistled for a hand ball. Oakville would regain the lead when Adam Polakiewicz chipped the ball past a defender and fired a strike inside the post. Unionville threatened to tie the game before the half but HERB GARBUTT / OAKVILLE BEAVER See Tension page 43 THRILL OF VICTORY: Oakville Raiders' Tommy Hong rushes to celebrate with keeper Darrin Macleod after winning the Ontario Cup under-15 boys' tier 1 title. Oakville Little League - 2010 Youth Baseball Registration Division Age Space is limited in some divisions. Register early to avoid disappointment. Blastball 4 T-Ball 5-6 T-Ball 7-8 Rookeball 8 Minor A 9 Minor AA 10 Minor AAA 11 Major 12 Junior 13 - 14 Senior 15 - 18 WHERE: OAKVILLE LITTLE LEAGUE FIELDHOUSE, 425 Cornwall Road WHEN: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH, 2009 from 9:00AM to 4:00PM Oakville Little League offers: 6 6 6 6 The largest youth baseball organization in Oakville. The highest caliber, fun and fair-play house leagues. Grass infields, pitching mounds, outfield fences & dugouts for ages 9 & up. The only All-Star program to compete in Senior, Junior & Little League World Series playdowns. 6 Fees include: Major League replica uniform, individual & team photos. For more information call 905-827-1831 or register online at www.ollb.org