It was a tight matchup in the U16 Girls Final at the 2024 Ontario Indoor Cup Presented by Sport Chek as Mississauga Soccer Academy (MSA) Rebels faced Master’s FA – Pickering in the championship match Sunday at the Zanchin Automotive Soccer Centre. MSA made an impressive comeback in the second half of the match, ultimately winning 2-1 over Master’s FA – Pickering. 

There was a lot of back-and-forth action in the first half, with many off-target and a handful of on-target attempts from both sides. 

Pickering was the first team to score with a goal in 14th minute. Battling through some tough defense, Shayonna Thompson passed the ball to Sierra Reynolds who took a quick touch and sent it back to Thompson. Thompson managed to squeeze through two MSA defenders and fired the ball into the top corner, past the opposing goalkeeper. 

MSA had a few valiant scoring attempts in the first half by Sofia Raco and Maja Cenanovic. Their goalkeeper also had a big save in the 21st minute as Pickering’s Vanessa Caeiro tried to orchestrate a scoring attempt between herself and teammate Sanai Sereboe. 

The second half started out strong for MSA with Maja Cenanovic tying the score within the first minute. She tore down the pitch, attempting a pass to Raco that was blocked by Pickering’s Iman Imer. Cenanovic got possession of the ball once again, dribbling around a few defenders and fired a shot into the net. 

With the score tied at 1-1 both teams ramped up the intensity in the second half, but MSA’s offense was on fire with the team making 23 total shots in the final half.  

MSA finally scored again in the 42nd minute, taking the lead for the first time in the match. Ava Villapando did most of the heavy lifting, going head-to-head with Pickering defenders as she worked her way toward the net. Inside the penalty area, Villapanda made a quick pass to Layah Haye who had positioned herself in front of the net. Without hesitation, Haye sent the ball straight into the back of the net, putting the scoreboard to 2-1 where it would remain for the rest of the match. 

Visit the 2024 Indoor Cup Finals Match Centre for a full recap of all the matches this weekend.

Visit the Ontario Soccer Facebook page for the full album

Watch the full game on the Ontario Soccer YouTube Channel.