It was Woodbridge Soccer Club against Hamilton United Elite in the second game of the 2023 OPDL Cup Finals on Saturday afternoon at the Ontario Soccer Centre.

The first half was largely controlled by Woodbridge who held most of the possession and scoring chances, peppering Hamilton Goalkeeper, Marcus Perri, with a barrage of shots. In total, Woodbridge created eight total shots with four on target, compared to Hamilton’s three total shots with two on target.

Woodbridge’s best chance came in the 12th minute when Leandro Stalteri (son of Canadian Soccer Hall of Famer Paul Stalteri who coaches the team) fired a long range shot that was saved by Perri. With the rebound falling straight to a wide open, on-rushing Forward, Perri was forced into an immediate follow-up, point-blank save to keep the game scoreless. Thanks to the big save and many others, Hamilton kept the game scoreless nil-nil at half.

Woodbridge picked up right where they left off and continued the onslaught in the second half.

In a four minute span, Woodbridge created three great scoring chances, hitting the bar all three times. The first came in the 48th minute when Stalteri unleashed another long range shot that was deflected right in front of Perri who adjusted mid-air and made a great save. Once again, the rebound fell to an oncoming forward, who could only manage to head the ball off the crossbar.

In the 49th minute, Noah Girimonte headed a cross onto the post and in the 51st minute, Woodbridge hit the post once again on a free kick.

Despite the one way traffic, Hamilton ended the half strong, controlling the ball in the Woodbridge final third for large periods of the final 20 minutes, but ultimately failed to convert any chances.

With the goalless draw, it was time for penalties. Woodridge goalkeeper, Nicholas Turchiaro, came up big in the shootout, saving three consecutive shots, to propel them to the 3-1 penalty shootout win. Visit the 2023 OPDL Cup Finals Match Centre for full coverage on all the great finals this weekend

Visit the Ontario Soccer YouTube channel to watch the full game.

Visit the Ontario Soccer Facebook page for the full photo album.