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Orillia U15 Lightning zap foes in strong start to soccer season

The local U15 squad is playing against older, more experienced opponents, but finding a way to be competitive

The U15 Orillia Lightning season has begun in a flash! Between exhibitions, league play and a tournament, the team has amassed a record 5-2 thus far.

Playing as a U15 team in a U16 league, the team began their season with a bit of a lopsided exhibition loss to Huntsville's U16 side. However, once league play began, coaches and team members had a much stronger sense of position and roles.

In the home opener against Huntsville’s U15 team, the Lightning struck fast and often coming away with an 8-0 win. Twenty-four hours later the team travelled to Huntsville with a chance of redemption against the older U16 team that dominated them in exhibition play. This time, Orillia was much more effective, leading to a hard fought 4-3 win.

To cap off the week, the team travelled to Barrie for the Spiritfest 2022 soccer tournament. Orillia played some excellent footy in the round robin draw, with wins over Barrie White (4-1), Guelph 2 (3-1) and Darlington (5-1).

The semi-final saw Orillia facing a second team from Guelph that played a very structured and well-balanced game. With less than 10 minutes left in the game and Orillia trailing 1-0, Lightning forward Brady Marion had a fantastic strike from outside the box. However, it was not meant to be as it glanced off the post and away from the net. The game ended with the 1-0 loss to the eventual tournament champion.

It has been a great start to the season, coaches say. 

The team has relied heavily on Marion for scoring so far this season, as last year’s league scoring champion Perjan Soltani has been working through injury. However, there have been contributions throughout the team with goals coming from Aidan Granulo, Desmond Andrews, Jacob Hazel, Julian White, Mason Bard, William Shaw and Owen Bolger.

To back up the offence, stellar play through the middle of the field has come from Aiden Lewis, Liam Rose, William Hillyard and strong new addition Willow Duncan. This group of midfielders are also looking forward to the return of a healthy Evan King.

Lock-down defence has been provided by Carson Copegog, Chris Moraru, Gabe Mennen, George Locker backed by timely goaltending from Ryder Huffman.

The team is looking forward to this week’s friendly with Barrie and a return to league play against North Bay.


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