By Larry Moko
Central-midfielder Mykah Suva of the Bishop Tonnos Titans isn't satisfied with just winning back-to-back junior boys' high school soccer championships.
He and the rest of the Titans accomplished that feat on June 1 with a 2-0 decision over the visiting St. John Henry Newman Cardinals.
"This was a big day," Grade 10 student Suva said. "We're happy to win the championship again and we'll go for three next year at senior. Our goal is to win all four years."
Titans coach Ang Beatrice said it's the first group he and fellow coach Edwin Suva (Mykah's father) have ever guided to consecutive titles at the Ancaster school.
"We're really proud of them," Beatrice said.
First-place BT needed overtime to pull out the win, however.
The Titans got goals by Mateo Mozetic and Carmen Palazzo in the final minute of each 10-minute overtime session.
Suva assisted on both markers.
"Mykah is an excellent player," Beatrice added. "He's our playmaker in the middle along with Nevio (Montecchia). We expect a lot from them."
On the whole, Tonnos had more of the game's scoring chances and maintained possession of the ball for the majority of the time.
"We move the ball well and we're all technically gifted," Suva said. "We've got good team spirit and we don't give up."
The regular-season meeting between BT and Newman was also scoreless after 80 minutes.
"We had to work for everything again today," Beatrice said. "Newman is a good side.
"They played a defensive shell that really worked for them. It was hard to penetrate at times. We were confident, though, that the guys would eventually get a goal or two that we needed."
Newman came close to taking the lead in the first overtime period. On the play, the Titans needed a desperation clear from close-range to keep the score tied.
"That's sport," Newman coach Dave Fratarcangeli said. "You can't dwell on a moment like that. You've got to move forward and think about the next opportunity.
"Each person on the field poured all they had into that game."
The Tonnos coach said his players showed patience and composure. Suva agreed: "They (Newman) knew me from our last game against them," he said. "They were marking me so it was hard to get open. I got the ball but I couldn't do much with it. In the second half I figured out how to get into spaces and distribute the ball."
Tonnos finished first in the league standings with a record of 3-0-3, while fourth-place Newman was 1-1-4. Semifinal action saw BT top St. Thomas More, 5-1, and the Cardinals down St. Mary, 5-0.
The rest of the Tonnos roster was comprised of Cristiano Martinez, Aaron Saju, Tumise Okerinde, Nick Marincic, Ethan Campli-Furness, Davide Okereke, Adam Bozzo, Xavier O'Reilly, Stefan Bratovanov, Maximus Faggion, Gianluca Ciavarra, Giancarlo Falletta, Fox Poirier, Kyan Main, Luca Vivieros, Levi Kalampalikis and Liam Morris.
In the girls' junior soccer final played at Newman on June 1, Tonnos prevailed there, too. Ava Greco scored in the second extra-time half to lift the Titans to a 2-1 victory.
Adriana Tecu had the other BT goal after previously undefeated Newman opened the scoring.
"It was quite a battle," said Christina Barbati, who recently guided the senior girls team at Tonnos to the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic title.
"Both teams played really well today," she added. "Newman kept the pressure on us. They're a talented team for sure. I'm very proud of our Titans for their hard work and determination throughout the match."
Other Tonnos players included Jahvaya Appiah, Olivia Battglia, Celestina Bonaccorso, Lauren Cadete, Chloe Coverdale, Adriana Consoli, Breanna Costa, Kate Derkash Alli-May Haalstra, Zoe Jack, Sofia Jimenez, Chiara Kucman, Isy Muldoon, Nicole Poweska, Ella Sergi and Julia Solly.
Earlier girls' junior semifinal action saw Newman blank the Bishop Ryan Celtics, 5-0, and Tonnos edge the St. Thomas More Knights, 2-1.
More photos on the HWCDSB Athletics Facebook page here.
Photos by Richard Andoga.
