Can FC Women make playoffs?; Men rolling; Majors in a rut

Gameday in 5: A look to the week ahead — and a recap of the week that was (July 17-23) — for London’s teams and athletes.

FC London’s women’s team needs a draw Tuesday night vs. Electric City to earn the final playoff spot. (Photo: Martin Bazyl / League1 Ontario).

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FC London

And, so, it comes down to this.

Tuesday night FC London’s women’s team will play its final match of the season — with their playoff hopes on the line. A win or a draw against Electric City FC and they’re in. A loss and they’re out. How did they get here? By playing excellent soccer down the stretch — including in the final week of the regular season.

With points in six games in a row (four wins and two draws), FC London hit the road Saturday for a must-win game against North Mississauga SC — a team also vying for the final playoff spot. And the London women did just that, winning a 2-1 match to temporarily move into sixth place in the standings.

Down 1-0 at the break, London came to play in the second half with Charlotte Cromack tying the game in the 54th minute and Olivia Brown scoring the eventual match winner just six minutes later. The win pushed the team into the final playoff spot, as the Simcoe County Rovers lost their weekend match. Just one match remains, a rescheduled game from May against Electric City FC, who sits two points back of London. That match goes Tuesday night in Milton.

Meanwhile, on the men’s side, FC London continued their strong play last week by earning points in a sixth straight contest — a significant improvement on their play early in the season.

On Saturday, it was a 3-2 win over the Woodbridge Strikers, a team just outside the top 10 in League1 Ontario standings. London took an early lead with Esosa Emovon opening the scoring in the 3rd minute. Carson Wood extended the lead before the Strikers responded with a late goal in the first half and then another in the 67th minute of the match. Just a minute later, though, London responded themselves — and with the eventual game winner from Santiago Fonseca. 

Up next:

It’s all or nothing for the women (8-4-5) Tuesday. A win or a draw against Electric City FC gets them into the playoffs — where they would play the North Toronto Nitros in the first round. A loss and their season is over. The men (4-6-5), meanwhile, will look to continue their strong play with a road game Saturday against ProStars FC.

Women:
Tues. July 25 (9:00pm vs. Electric City FC)

Men:
Sat. July 29 (7:00pm @ ProStars FC)

London Majors

It was a rough week for the London Majors, who lost all four games on their schedule — albeit against the top four teams in the league.

The week started with a 12-5 loss to the first-place Welland Jackfish Wednesday at Labatt Park. Edisson Gonzalez got the start — and it would be his last start as a London Major. Unfortunately, due to arm pain, the Majors decided to shut him down and send the Panamanian home (Gonzalez is not far removed from Tommy John surgery).

He took the loss in his final outing, allowing three runs on four hits in just two innings before being removed from the contest with recurring arm pain. Unfortunately for the Majors, the bullpen didn’t fare much better, as all four relievers allowed at least a run. Down 8-0 in the fifth, Majors catcher Eduardo de Oleo, in his first game back from injury, launched a three-run homer. Cleveland Brownlee singled in the team’s other two runs in the loss. 

Although the offense came to life, Friday’s game didn’t turn out much better, as the Majors lost a 14-10 contest against the Barrie Baycats. Newly signed starter Julio Goff got the start for London, and he allowed six runs over his 4 1/3 innings of work. Jaryd Lund was then roughed up for eight runs (six earned) in 2 2/3 innings and was credited with the loss. Byron Reichstein powered the Majors’ offence, going 3-for-5 with a 2-run homer in the 4th. Starling Joseph was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. 

In Welland Saturday, London saw a 6-6 game in the seventh inning turn into a 12-6 loss. Owen Boon had a rare poor start, allowing seven runs (13 hits) in his seven innings of work. Nevertheless, he left the game trailing by just one after the Jackfish had scored in their half of the seventh to make it 7-6. A five-run eighth inning put the game away. All runs were scored against reliever Braeden Ferrington, although London defensive miscues didn’t help. Drew Lawrence went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI, while Joseph had a pair of hits.

In their final game of the week, the Majors lost 12-8 to the Kitchener Panthers. Pedro De Los Santos got the start, and he was hit hard, allowing 11 runs in his four innings of work to take the loss. He walked four and struck out five. Byron Reichstein had a big day at the plate for London, going 3-for-4 with two homers. Tommy Reyes-Cruz (3-for-5) and Kayne McGee (2-for-4) also homered for the Majors.

Up next:

The Majors have another busy week ahead, beginning Tuesday with a makeup game vs. Hamilton. Then it’s three more on the weekend.

Tues. July 25 (7:35pm vs. Hamilton Cardinals)
Fri. July 28 (7:35pm vs. Welland Jackfish)
Sat. July 29 (4:05pm @ Barrie Baycats)
Sun. July 30 (5:15pm @ Kitchener Panthers)

Junior Mustangs Football

It’s playoff season for the London Jr. Mustangs football program, which plays in the Ontario Summer Football League (OSFL), and both the varsity and junior varsity squads enjoyed wins last weekend in their contests.

The JV squad (U16), who finished 6-1 during the regular season, downed the Myers Riders of Ottawa, 35-3, in the quarterfinal round to advance to the semis, where they’ll take on the Burlington Stampeders this Sunday, July 29, at 7:30pm. The Cumberland Panthers and Hamilton Jr. Tiger-Cats will square off in the other semi.

At the U18 level, the Jr. Mustangs, who went 3-4 in regular season action, won a lopsided 52-0 game over the Scarborough Thunder to advance in the KJ Kenemy Memorial Cup bracket. They’ll play the Oakville Titans in a semi-final game this weekend.