Local roundup: Eight headed to Essex County Soccer Hall of Fame
The first Essex County Soccer Hall of Fame will now feature eight inductees.
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The first Essex County Soccer Hall of Fame will now feature eight inductees.
Former striker Tony Tiselj was announced in April as the hall’s first inductee, but that class has now grown by seven more for the ceremony, which is set for Aug. 24 at the Ciociaro Club.
Joining Tiselj in the athlete’s category will be Thomas Angus ‘Gus’ Moffat, Ilario Bontorin and Rose Daley.
The builder’s category will welcome Sasho Cirovski, Walter Lomas, John Vacratsis and Mike Baraslievski.
Moffat, who passed away in 2015, was born in Scotland and played in England, Scotland, the United States and Canada. He settled in Windsor in 1983 after retiring and coached locally for AC Roma.
Bontorin came to Windsor from Italy in 1959 and played several years locally. His is the first player from the area to win the Ontario Cup twice and won a National Soccer League title with Teutonia before coaching at the local level.
Daley was born in Jamaica, but came to Canada at the age of 10. She was a three-time, all-city selection at Kennedy and went the University of Hartford on scholarship where she finished third on the school’s all-time scoring list at the time of her graduation. She played for Canada’s national team and professionally in Sweden and Japan before returning home to coach at the high school and amateur level.
Cirovski, who came to Canada from Macedonia at the age of eight, was a standout player at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and played in the American Indoor Soccer Association.
In 1993, he took over as head coach at the University of Maryland. In 2002, the school started a run of four-straight appearances at the NCAA College Cup final four and he won a national title in 2005. In 2008, he also guided the school to an Atlantic Coast Conference title and a national championship.
Lomas, who passed away in 1974, was born in England and came to Canada in 1924. He played for several local clubs, but became better known locally as Mr. Soccer. He was the first president of the Essex County Football Association in 1948 and later served as secretary-treasurer. He also served as president of the Ontario Football Association and played a key role in establishing the Essex County Youth Soccer Program.
Vacratsis won provincial titles for the University of Windsor, Lowe high school and the Running Shoe/Windsor Wheels youth team.
He was named OUA coach of the year in 1985 and guided the Lancers to consecutive OUA West Division titles. Lowe earned 10-straight city titles under his guidance and made three provincial finals with the school claiming the city’s first OFSAA title.
Several more provincial crowns followed with the Running Shoe/Windsor Wheels.
Baraslievski has guided the St. Clair College program for 23 seasons. The club won an OCAA silver medal in 2000. He is also the longtime president and a founding member of the Windsor FC Nationals program.
Mic Mac title
After dropping the first game of the double-elimination format, the Windsor Selects 16U team captured the Mic Mac Midget League title on Sunday after reeling off six-straight wins.
The Selects came into Sunday’s action needing two wins over the Tecumseh Thunder 16U and took both games by scores of 12-5 and 9-3.
Matt Bardoel went the distance in the final game as the Selects program claimed its fourth title this season. The Selects 15U and 18U team each won the Premier Baseball League of Ontario title while the Junior Selects won the Ontario elimination tournament.
TFC Stars blanked
The Windsor TFC Stars dropped a 3-0 road decision to the Toronto Skillz FC club on Sunday in League1 Ontario men’s soccer action.
The loss dropped the Stars to 5-6-4 on the season, which puts the team fifth in the West Division.
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