FC women sit 4th; Majors drop three of four; Jr. ‘Stangs in action
Gameday in 5: A look to the week ahead — and a recap of the week that was (July 2-7) — for London’s teams and athletes.
(Photo: Martin Bazyl / League1 Ontario).
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FC London
Women
The women’s team (7-4-2) earned a win Sunday afternoon, 1-0, over Guelph United on the road to maintain their position in fourth place in League1 Ontario’s Premier Division entering a new week. They are two points behind Woodbridge for third. Lauren Rowe scored the lone goal in the contest, in the 68th minute, and Cassidy Joslin earned a shutout in net for FC London, who won their third match in a row.
Up next:
Wed. July 10 (9:00pm vs. Blue Devils FC)
Sun. July 14 (5:00pm @ Woodbridge Strikers)
Men
The men’s team (8-2-1) dropped just their second contest of the year Friday, losing 2-0 to St. Catharines Roma on the road. The home side struck first in the 18th minute to go up 1-0. London couldn’t get anything going, and then St. Catharines extended their lead to 2-0 on a converted penalty in the 63rd minute. The loss dropped London out of top spot in the Men’s Championship Division, one point behind TFC Academy.
Up next:
Sat. July 13 (8:00pm vs. North Mississauga SC)
Winners of four of their previous five games, the London Majors managed just a lone victory in four tries last weekend, dropping three in a row on Saturday and Sunday to find themselves in a three-way tie for second place in the IBL standings heading into a new week.
Things got started well, and in exciting fashion, as London beat Brantford at home Friday night, 3-2, on a walk-off hit in the bottom of the ninth inning. Eduardo de Oleo played the hero, singling in Kaiden Cardoso for the winning run. It was just the fifth hit of the game for the Majors, but they managed to make it five wins in six tries. London starter Victor Payano allowed two runs on 10 hits and a walk, striking out nine in seven innings of work. Jonathan Henry pitched two scoreless and earned the win. Tristan Osika hit his first homer in a Majors uniform.
On Saturday, London outhit Welland, 10-9, but they came out on the wrong end of a 6-4 decision on the road. The Jackfish built up a 5-1 lead after four innings. London came within a run with a 3-run sixth inning, but they were unable to score again after that. The Majors’ Travis Keys gave up five runs (four earned) in just four innings for the loss. Byron Reichstein and Gibson Krzeminski both homered for London.
And then the losses added up on Sunday, as the Majors dropped a pair in Kitchener against the Panthers. The first, a 14-4 defeat, was the continuation of a rained out game back in June (where the Panthers led 1-0 in the third inning). Christian Coombes and Daniel Gore struggled on the mound for London, while the team committed five errors in the contest. Cleveland Brownlee hit his first home run of the season, while Kaiden Cardoso also went deep.
In the second, regularly scheduled, game in Kitchener, the Majors came out on the wrong end of a 6-2 decision. Jose Arias got the start in that one, allowing all six runs (on 10 hits and two walks) over six innings. He struck out seven. Byron Reichstein had a multi-hit game, while Brownlee and Krzeminski drove in London’s runs.
Up next:
The Majors (14-9), who enter the week in a three-way tie for second place in the IBL standings, have another busy stretch of games this weekend, including three in three days.
Fri. July 12 (7:35pm vs. Guelph Royals)
Sat. July 13 (7:35pm vs. Brantford Red Sox)
Sun. July 14 (2:05pm @ Hamilton Cardinals)
Tues. July 16 (7:35pm @ Chatham-Kent Barnstormers)
London Jr. Mustangs Football
In Ontario Summer Football action, the U18 Mustangs won big on the road, 44-13, over the Oakville Titans on Saturday. The win improved the Mustangs’ record to 6-1, just a game behind the Hamilton Jr. Ticats in the OSFL’s AAA West Division.
Through seven games, London has now scored a league-best 191 points. They’ll take on the aforementioned Jr. Ticats on Saturday (8pm) at home for their final regular season game before playoffs.
At the U16 level, the Jr. Mustangs claimed an 18-8 win on the road over the Kingston Grenadiers on Saturday. That improved London’s record to 5-2, good for third place in the OSFL’s AAA West Division. They’ll finish off their regular season with a home game against the U16 Hamilton Jr. Ticats this Saturday (5pm).
In case you missed it from last weekend, the London Knights had four players chosen in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. , Sam Dickinson (11th round, San Jose Sharks) and Sam O’Reilly (32nd, Edmonton Oilers) were both selected in the first round, while Jared Woolley (sixth round, LA Kings) and William Nicholl (seventh round, Oilers) were also selected.
The London Lightning, defending BSL champs, have announced the roster they’ll open the 2024-25 season with, as training camp closes and they eye Sudbury in the season opener.