The Stouffville U14 Mustangs displayed strong play against Richmond Hill in an away soccer match last Thursday, August 24th.
Despite Richmond Hill scoring first, Stouffville performed well on both sides of the ball throughout the first half.
Impressive close control play from Daniel Ijeh led to Karthick Thushanthan delivering Stouffville’s response in remarkable fashion, resulting in a tied score at halftime.
A slow start in the second half transformed into strong teamwork across all positions. Notable performances included Max Castillo and Nico Blaney combining effectively on the left, Sébastien Lombardi making his goalkeeping debut, and Kayle Roth’s stellar display at right back.
George Kokinias was missed due to a first-half ankle injury, and a concentration lapse led to Richmond Hill’s second goal.
Stouffville pushed hard to equalize, but Richmond Hill’s long-range shot just over Jalen Banks’ head sealed their 3-1 victory.
Substitutions were made with just eight minutes remaining in an attempt to claw a goal back, but it was too little too late.
Coach Shaun and Coach Fadi were disappointed by a game they felt they could have won. “We’re down the table and need to recover quickly in order to finish the season strong,” Shaun commented.
The contest followed Stouffville’s inaugural soccer tournament in Thornhill over the previous weekend.
The Mustangs experienced a challenging 0-6 loss to Thornhill despite an impressive effort from the team. They rebounded in the second match with a 3-1 victory against Ottawa but faced another hard-fought loss to Niagara to finish off the tournament.
Coaches and management were delighted with the exposure and believe the tournament experience will help the team for the remaining three matches of the season.
