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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday June 14, 2008 - 25 Cavaliers, Raiders both rallied in semifinals on way to medals Continued from page 24 "That was the most exciting game of the tournament for us, maybe even the most exciting game I ever coached in," said Raiders coach Justin Yantho. "The girls were really pushing and it came together at the end for those three really quick goals." Krista Michie, Jaime Neefs and Robyn Matos had the quick strikes for the Raiders, who had posted a 3-0-1 record in pool play and then blanked Villanova 3-0 in the quarter-finals. Aquinas' gold-medal dreams, however, came to an end with the shootout loss to Holy Cross, the same team that eliminated the Raiders in the quarter-finals of last year's tournament. Neefs had the Aquinas goal as the teams finished regulation time tied 1-1. Holy Cross outscored the Raiders 3-2 in the shootout, following a scoreless overtime period. "Last year (Holy Cross) got away with stealing a game. This year, it was a tight game that could have gone either way," Yantho said. "We were probably the better team, but we just didn't get a couple bounces." Neefs finished the tournament with five goals, while Matos had four. Cassandra Russo netted three, Michie had two, and Victoria Miliucci and Christina Bilczuk contributed singles. Taryn McKenna earned four shutouts for the Raiders, who had only 15 healthy players available to play seven games in three days. The silver is the second OFSAA medal in three years for the Aquinas girls, who won gold in 2006. Tigers win first-ever OFSAA soccer medal It'd be easy to look at the T.A. Blakelock Tigers' bronzemedal win and call it the Kyle Joyce Show. Not so, says Tigers coach Ken Butler, despite the fact that Joyce scored 11 of the Tigers' 12 goals in the tournament. "Kyle deserves a lot of credit because of his finishing prowess, but he wouldn't have had as many chances if they weren't created for him," said Butler. "Our team was solid from the back forward." The coach credited keeper Austin Lerke -- who stopped several penalty kicks during the tournament -- and midfielders Theo Koolen and Jon Volpatti in particular for their contributions. Butler was also proud of his team for the way it rebounded from a disappointing 4-2 semifinal loss Wednesday morning to Thunder Bay's St. Ignatius. The Tigers held a 2-1 lead in that game with 15 minutes to go, but a dubious penalty call helped St. Ignatius tie the score and the Tigers fell apart after that. "The boys were completely devastated," said Butler. "They were emotionally, mentally and physically exhausted. To recover to play the bronze medal match was very difficult." But the second-seeded Tigers did recover, allowing the first goal in the bronze game to Brantford before Joyce scored twice -- the second with 15 minutes left -- to lift them to a 2-1 victory. Chris Elliot had the other Blakelock regulation-time goal at the tournament, while Steve Hay scored in the seventh round of a shootout to give the Tigers a 2-1 win over Father Bressani in the quarter-finals. The bronze is the first soccer medal in Blakelock school history. Hawks claim antique The Loyola Hawks also enjoyed a successful OFSAA tournament, finishing fourth at the AAA girls' championships in Hamilton. Loyola went 3-1 in the opening round, then defeated St. Patrick 1-0 in the quarter-finals before falling 4-1 to London Central in the semis and 21 to Northern in the bronze-medal match. "This was a very positive end to a great winning season," said coach Sarah Humby. "After having been at the OFSAA tournament last year, we were better prepared for the level of competition we were going to face." Alana Boyczuk paced the Hawks with five goals at the tournament. Jennifer O'Brien (three), Emilie Clarke (three), Jennifer Chuey (two), Stacey Cusan, Chynell Richardson and Julia Marchese also had markers. Loyola was virtually undefeated in regular play going into the tournament, its only loss coming in penalty kicks in the semifinal of a tournament earlier this season. BRIAN JOYCE / SPECIAL TO THE OAKVILLE BEAVER JOY OF THE TIGERS: The T.A. Blakelock Tigers celebrate after scoring a goal during this week's provincial high school AAA boys' soccer championships in Thunder Bay. For more sports information visit www.oakvillebeaver.com CARRIERS WANTED The Oakville Beaver The Oakville Beaver is looking for newspaper carriers in your neighbour hood! Support your local carrier Join our carrier club Earn extra money and win prizes Many routes still available Call immediately for more information 905-845-9742