FC London earns promotion; Beefs drop opener; Majors clinch 3rd

Gameday in 5: A look to the week ahead — and a recap of the week that was (Aug. 12-21) — for London’s teams and athletes.

(Photo: Barry Field Photography).

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FC London

Men

The FC London men’s team punched their ticket to the Premier Division for 2025 — and they won their regular season finale, to boot.

When Unionville Milliken lost last Friday night, FC London clinched second place in League1 Ontario’s Championship Division, which earned them automatic promotion to the Premier Division for next year. The next day, the London squad put an exclamation mark on the accomplishment by beating visiting BVB IA Waterloo, 3-2, at Tricar Field in their final home game of the 2024 regular season.

Ryan Baker opened the scoring for London in the 10th minute. Five minutes later, Tomas Ribeiro, a former London player who missed a penalty earlier in the match, notched a goal for Waterloo to tie things 1-1. Baker knocked home his own penalty chance in the 29th minute. The visitors tied things again, 2-2, in the 62nd minute, but London, determined to send the fans home happy with a win, managed to go ahead 3-2 on a goal by Ibrahem Saadi in the 88th minute.

With their weekend success, FC London emphatically became the first team in the country to earn promotion in the new relegation-promotion era in League1 Canada soccer. They’ll finish second in the overall League1 Ontario Championship Division standings (behind TFC Academy), and they have a final match to play to close out their season.

Up next:

Fri. Aug. 23 (8:00pm vs. Pickering FC)

London Majors

Rain was the story for the London Majors last weekend, as each of their three scheduled contests were postponed due to poor field conditions. And, so, they had a very busy stretch to complete their regular season, playing each of Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

When the dust settled, they won two of three contests and finished in third place in the IBL standings, setting them up for a first-round playoff matchup against the sixth-placed Hamilton Cardinals.

On Monday, on the road, the Majors won a high-scoring 12-10 affair against the Kitchener Panthers. Big innings were the story of the contest, as London put up four in the first, Kitchener responded with five in the second, and the Majors put up another four in the third. Starling Joseph had a bigtime game, going 4-for-4 with a home run and a pair of RBIs. Byron Reichstein also homered, while Drew Lawrence went 3-for-6 with three RBIs.

On Tuesday, the Majors dropped an 8-2 decision in Guelph against the Royals, who they were battling with for third place. Starting pitcher Jose Arias allowed four runs on six hits and three walks over six innings, striking out eight along the way. Braeden Ferrington gave up another four runs in relief. Joseph, Eduardo de Oleo and Gibson Krzeminski each had a pair of hits in a losing effort.

And then London bounced back with a 4-3 extra-inning win Wednesday — against the same Royals squad — to clinch third place heading into the playoffs. It took 12 innings to do it, but a Krzeminski RBI double and a Drew Lawrence RBI single turned a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 win in the bottom of the 12th. The Majors got a strong pitching performance from Alex Springer (7 IP, 2 runs, none earned). Daniel Gore tossed four scoreless innings.

Up next:

The Majors (26-16) will take on the Hamilton Cardinals in the first round of the IBL playoffs, beginning Friday night at home. It’s a best-of-five series, which will alternate between the cities each game.

Game 1: Fri. Aug. 23 (7:35pm vs. Hamilton Cardinals)
Game 2: Sat. Aug. 24 (7:35pm @ Hamilton Cardinals)
Game 3: Sun. Aug. 25 (4:05pm vs. Hamilton Cardinals)
Game 4: Tues. Aug. 27 (7:35pm @ Hamilton Cardinals) (If necessary)
Game 5: Wed. Aug. 28 (7:35pm vs. Hamilton Cardinals) (If necessary)

London Beefeaters

For the first time in 2024, the London Beefeaters junior football team hit the field Saturday at City Wide Sports Park — but it didn’t go as planned. A 37-7 loss to the powerhouse St. Clair Saints served as a bit of a wakeup call for the squad, who hopes to make a return trip to the Ontario Football Conference final this season.

The Saints controlled play for much of the contest, amassing 587 total net yards on offense. The Beefeaters, by comparison, managed just 224 — and just 59 in the second half.

London quarterback Brody Fairbairn completed eight of his 11 pass attempts for 121 yards and a touchdown. Luca Rosiello was the recipient of that touchdown pass. He finished the day with a pair of catches for 56 yards. Jagger Horst had a 30-yard reception, while Karson Douglas hauled in three catches and Nick Szigetti had two.

Running back LJ Dyer was held in check, gaining just 30 yards on 11 carries. Jesse King tallied 33 yards on four carries.
Up next:

Sat. Aug. 24 (7:00pm @ Hamilton Hurricanes)