Electric City Football Club Folds After Two Years; Pickering FC Acquires Team Licenses

/

The Electric City Football Club (ECFC) era has ended in Peterborough after two seasons as Pickering FC has acquired the men’s and women’s licenses, announced by League1 Ontario on Tuesday afternoon.

ECFC PLAYERS LUKE GREEN (MIDDLE) AND CONNOR WILSON (RIGHT) CELEBRATING THE TEAM’S FIRST FRANCHISE WIN WITH FANS, SCORING THREE GOALS IN 14 MINUTES. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The move allows Pickering FC, a founding League1 Ontario club, to restart their L1ON program with full operational control after stepping away before the 2022 season.

The club was initially introduced on Aug. 9, 2021 and started by Keaton Robbins and several local businessmen. Rob Jenkins was recruited as the team’s president for the men’s and women’s teams. Before joining the club, he helped build Calgary’s CPL franchise.

The club faced staff and management turnover shortly before the season’s start. Robbins had departed from the organization before the season opener and first appointed head coach Michael Marcoccia shortly stepped down for family reasons prior to training camp.

Jamie Sherwood, the men’s team’s second head coach, was let go after four games into the season. Randy Ribiero, the women’s head coach served as the interim replacement for the men’s team for the season and remained during the team’s sophomore year. He was terminated from his contract in late September last year. Team president Jenkins had left during the middle of the season.

The club saw record attendance in both the men’s and women’s home openers, setting League1 Ontario records with 1,565 and 1,009 fans, respectively, in 2022. In the two seasons, both the men’s and women’s teams were in the top half of the standings but failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok, Youtube and LinkedIn. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for our newsletter here.

Electric City Football Club Re-Sign Angelika Mihalopulos and Daniel Oshana For the 2023 Rosters

/

Electric City Football Club (ECFC) have brought back midfielders Angelika Mihalopulos and Daniel Oshana to their 2023 roster announced on Wednesday.

Photo courtesy of ECFC.

Mihalopulos played in 18 matches, playing 1,400 minutes during her first season with ECFC. Prior to Electric City, Mihalopulos played professionally in Greece in the Women’s Alpha division for AEL FC. She started 16 games and helped lead the team to a fourth-place finish in the Greek First Division.

“I’m excited to be back for my second season with the club,” said Mihalopulos. “The passion and backing from the community last year was unbelievable and I’m proud to be back representing all of you. I look forward to meeting all the new staff and players and reuniting with some familiar faces.”

“Having Angelika return to ECFC was a no-brainer,” said Randy Ribiero, ECFC men’s and women’s head coach. “We are delighted to have her sign for the 2023 season, and she will again be an important piece in midfield for us.”

Oshana joined ECFC last year playing for FC London in 2021. Oshana's big moment came after scoring two goals in the last 10 minutes to Scrosoppi FC to help his side overturn a 3-1 deficit. Oshana represented Team Ontario in the 2017 Canada Games, winning a gold medal.

“It’s a pleasure being able to return to Electric City FC this season,” said Oshana. “I’m looking forward to meeting and working with my teammates, staff, and the community. It’s a big year and I’m going to give it my all for the club and the greatest fans in the league.”

Oshana played in 20 matches and logged the most minutes of any ECFC player with 1,727 minutes.

“Daniel was a standout player for ECFC last season and we are thrilled to have him re-sign for 2023,” said Ribiero. “Daniel is one of the best central midfielders in League 1 and I think it is a matter of time before we see him make the move to a higher level.”

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.

Electric City Football Club Re-Sign Kayla McQueen and Bradley Heath For the 2023 Season

/

After Electric City Football Club’s (ECFC) inaugural year, the team has re-signed striker Kayla McQueen and defender Bradley Heath for their 2023 women’s and men’s 2023 rosters respectively announced on Monday night.

Kayla McQueen (left) scored 13 goals during the regular season ranking fourth best in the league while Bradley Heath (right) played 20 games for ECFC. File Photo.

“Bradley was a constant in our backline last season and is part of a core group of players returning for 2023,” said Randy Ribiero, ECFC men’s and women’s head coach. “His desire to win, willingness to compete and the character he has, exemplifies what it means to play for this organization and represent the City of Peterborough.” 

Heath played over 1700 minutes and helped the team earn eight shutouts in his 20 games started. He was named a Western Conference All-Star while playing with FC London during the prior two seasons and named OCAA West Defender of the Year in 2018 and 2021 during his four years with the Fanshawe Falcons. 

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to return to Peterborough this summer with Electric City,“ he said. “We’ve got a young and talented group coming in, along with great coaches to work with.”

McQueen led OCAA Women’s Soccer prior to joining ECFC last year with 17 goals in five games for Fanshawe College. She was named team captain and OCAA Women’s soccer West Division Player of the Year. McQueen also received CCAA All-Canadian honours for the 2021-22 season.

“Returning to ECFC means being surrounded by the best community and fans the league has seen,” said McQueen. “I am looking forward to working with familiar faces and meeting new players and staff.”

McQueen played in all 19 women’s matches last season, scoring 13 goals and finishing fourth in League 1 Ontario for scoring.

“I am thrilled to have Kayla returning for 2023,” said Ribeiro, “Kayla proved last season that she is one of the top strikers in this league. She is a player that the fans and community really got behind and is a joy to watch play. Kayla led our team in scoring last season, and we will look for her to continue that form this year.”

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.

Former ECFC Captain Signs First Pro Contract With Islandic Soccer League

/

Former Electric City Football Club (ECFC) captain Holly O’Neill is headed east as she signed her first professional soccer contract with Iceland’s Íþróttabandalag Vestmannaeyjar Football Club (IBV) of the Pepsi Max League announced on Tuesday.

O’Neill (left) was second in scoring for ECFC in their inaugrual year behind Kayla McQueen. PHOTO courtesy of Electric City Football Club.

The IBV women’s soccer team has won the Islandic Cup twice, in 2004 and 2017.

“Super excited to announce the signing of my first official professional football contract with IBV in the Pepsi Max League in Iceland Playing professionally had long been a dream of mine and I’m ecstatic to take this next step in my football career and see where it takes me,” said O’Neill in a tweet.

The 24-year-old attacker is from St. John’s, Newfoundland. As ECFC captain, she scored nine goals in 18 games, only second behind Kayla McQueen with 13.

In 2021, O’Neill led all scorers in the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) conference with 12 goals— including six game-winners, the most in Canadian Universities — in 12 regular-season contests. Her performances led to O’Neill being named an AUS First Team All-Star and the Conference’s Most Valuable Player.

At the National U Sports level, O’Neill’s great 2021 season at Memorial University saw her finish 3rd in the country in scoring, was selected as a First Team All Canadian and was nominated for U Sports Female Soccer Player of the Year.

O’Neill played her youth soccer for the St. John’s Soccer Club from 2006-2016 and also represented the Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial team from 2012-2016. She also played on Team Atlantic in 2013 and 2014.

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.

Electric City Football Club Launches Reserve Teams Partnership With FC Durham

/

The Electric City Football Club (ECFC) has launched their League 1 Ontario men’s and women’s 2023 reserve teams, in partnership with FC Durham Academy announced on Thursday.

File photo.

Durham and ECFC are eager to further invest in the affiliation formed during ECFC’s inaugural 2022 season and continue cultivating high-quality opportunities for players in the East region according to a press release.

Amongst this past season’s FC Durham Academy talent, were Caylan Lawrence and Rylee Traicoff, both scoring goals for ECFC’s Men’s and Women’s Teams respectively.

FC Durham Academy co-owners Tom Croft and Rich Hirst are bringing a combined 70 years of coaching experience.

“We are excited to expand our partnership with ECFC in 2023,” said Croft. “This will allow FC Durham to enhance our role in the High-Performance Pathway in Ontario, providing consistent challenges and opportunity for our players in our Post-Formation Phase U17 and older.”

Nick Kassermelli and Hirst are head coaches with the ECFC League 1 Men U21 and Women’s Reserve Teams respectively. Hirst will also assume the role of Assistant Coach with the ECFC League 1 Women’s Premier Team.

“We are thrilled to continue our partnership with FC Durham for the 2023 season. FC Durham is a constant in developing youth players that we have seen move onto post-secondary institutions and to even higher levels year after year,” said Randy Riberio, ECFC head coach. “We were very pleased with the quality of players that we were able to bring into first team training last season and even had some standout performances in quite a few L1 Premier matches on both our Men’s and Women’s teams in 2022. We look forward to fielding ECFC’s first ever Reserve Men’s and Women’s teams in partnership with FC Durham next season.”

ECFC is hosting their Men’s Open Tryouts on Monday at Wet ‘n’ Wild Dome in Brampton. Further details about women’s tryouts will be announced.

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.

Three Electric City Football Club Players Named As League-1 Ontario All-Stars

/

It was an excellent first year for Electric City Football Club’s (ECFC) Mykaela Volpe, Zach Ellis-Hayden and Quillian Roberts as they were named League1 Ontario 2022 All-Stars announced on Friday.

Photo courtesy of Electric City Football Club and David Pickering.

Volpe was named second-team all-star as she played 14 games as ECFC’s goalkeeper allowing 16 goals with a 1.14 goals against average that included five shutouts.

She also was runner-up to League1 Ontario’s Goalkeeper of the Year to FC London’s Jadyn Steinhauer.

In 2021, The Kitchener-born goalkeeper had an 8-0-1 record with nine shutouts allowing only one goal to Western University on a penalty kick.

Photo courtesy of Electric City Football Club and David Pickering.

ECFC defender Zach Ellis-Hayden earned third-team all-star honours logging three assists in 16 games.

Ellis-Hayden was one of ECFC’s inaugural signings back on Feb. 10 alongside Sona Makulova. The Kitchener-born defender spent the last six seasons playing professionally in the USL Championship prior to ECFC.

Photo by David Tuan Bui.

Roberts as his teammate Ellis-Hayden earned third-team all-star honours playing 17 games, allowing 19 goals and seven shutouts for the season.

He was named a runner-up for League1 Ontario’s men’s Goalkeeper of the Year, losing out to Praveen Ahilan of Alliance United. Ali Ghazanfari-Moghaddan of the North Toronto Nitros was also named as a runner-up.

Just like being ECFC’s first goalkeeper signing, Roberts was one of the first in Hamilton’s Forge FC’s history. Roberts had eight Canadian Premier League starts with nine goals against and four shutouts.

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.

Electric City Football Club Men's Team Concludes Season with 0-0 Draw

/

The Electric City FC Men’s side wrapped up their inaugural season with a 0-0 draw against St. Catharines Roma Wolves at Fleming College on Saturday.

Photo courtesy of Electric City Football Club.

The team finished 10th in the league with an 8-7-6 record but failed to qualify for the playoffs. After registering a 3rd consecutive home draw. ECFC had rung off five consecutive home wins but went 0-1-4 in their last five home games.

ECFC controlled play and had the lion's share of chances but could not convert against St. Catharine’s goalkeeper Carson Provenzano.

ECFC defender Ben Vyfschaft said despite not making playoffs, there are many positives throughout the season.

“Obviously there was a lot of games where we did not get the result we wanted to,” he said. “I think we all know on the team that we play really well together. We just kind of had this roadblock of just finishing out games and closing out those three points, which really was the big reason why we did not get to be a part of that playoff push.”

Fellow Defender Zach Ellis-Hayden said the team could have gone farther with the team they had.

“It is a tough one to look back on,” he explained. “On the pitch I think we struggled at times to figure out how to click and so some results did not go our way. We had good moments but overall I think we have a great team of great players who hoped for and deserved a bit more.”

ECFC Head Coach Randy Ribeiro remarked on the opportunity to work with a group of great individuals each day throughout the season.

“I could not be more thankful to have had the opportunity to work with not only top players, but top people,” he said. “Guys that are aspiring to play at highest level they possibly can, showing up every day with good training habits. It made my job so difficult picking teams week to week but that is the best environment to be in as a coach.”

Things were not easy during their inaugural season but Ribeiro believes next year will be easier now that a platform has been made.

“The nice thing is that there is a foundation, we have got legs to stand on. There is something to build on here which I am really excited for and building something from the ground up is never easy and so I am so thankful to have that opportunity to be a part of Electric City in its inaugural year.”

Vyfschaft said that if the group stays together, they could be dangerous next season.

“It is our first season, I think we can build off of it and if we kind of work out those kinks and come back as the same group, I am positive that we can overcome that and have a strong season next year,” he said.

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.

Electric City Football Club Allow Extra Time Comeback for 2-2 Draw

/

It was rough times for Electric City Football Club (ECFC) as they coughed up a third consecutive home lead in extra time, tying Alliance United FC to a 2-2 draw on Wednesday evening.

An Alliance United Player with ECFC Zak Drake (right) moments after full time. Electric City has allowed a goal in extra time in three consecutive home games. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

Electric City’s prior two home matches with conceded extra-time goals started with a 3-3 draw against Burlington SC, allowing three unanswered goals in the second half including two penalty kicks (with the second in extra time) on July 13.

They lost in extra time to the Simcoe County Rovers FC allowing two goals in the 86th minute and extra time for a 2-1 loss on July 23rd.

“It's frustrating conceding goals late over the past few matches,” said Randy Riberio, ECFC head coach. We can't afford to do it, we have to be locked in, switched on for everything that gets thrown at us. We know their team is down and they need to score a goal so they're going to throw whatever they have and we need to be better at dealing with it.

Both teams exchanged scoring chances early in the first half. ECFC goalkeeper Quillan Roberts intercepted multiple balls launched high in the air from free and corner kicks to keep the game scoreless.

ECFC struck first as midfielder Mohammad Reza-Nafar scored his fourth of the season. He shot from outside the box, beating Alliance keeper Praveen Ahilan in the lower left corner for the 1-0 lead in the 30th minute.

Tomas Alverez tapped in a one-timed pass from Ethan Gopaul to make it 2-0 in the 37th minute to extend ECFC’s lead into the half. That was Alverez’s second goal of the season, scoring last against the ProStars FC on May 21.

Alliance got on the board in the 73rd minute as Atchu Sivananthan knocked in a header off a sideline pass, beating a diving Roberts making it 2-1.

ECFC’s Adrian Gallo turned over the ball and Alliance’s Kingsley Belele almost capitalized on the mistake with a high-quality scoring chance. Roberts was able to make a diving save on the low corner to maintain the 2-1 lead.

Alliance’s Samuel Gardner earned a red card in the 84th minute making the team’s comeback bid more difficult.

Gopaul almost clinched the game for ECFC going for the top corner but just went outside the post.

Roberts mishandled the ball off an errant play from Alliance and fielded out of bounds for a corner kick. He chose to play the ball instead of allowing it to roll out of bounds for a corner kick. Riberio was unsure if Roberts had the option allow the ball to roll out or not.

Alliance capitalized on their final opportunity as Nirun Sivananthan was able to kick it past Roberts from a contested header to tie the game moments before extra time expired.

“I thought we were the better team, we never looked like we were conceding a goal until the final 10 minutes of the match which was unfortunate,” explained Riberio. “We need to create opportunities to put the game away and if we would have had the next goal to make it 3-0, I think that game's out of reach.”

Playoff clinching scenario for ECFC (to earn the sixth seed):

  • ECFC must win all three remaining games and;

  • Alliance United FC and Guelph United lose all their remaining games and;

  • Hamilton United cannot win all their remaining games

This was Riberio’s first game back off a two-game suspension for multiple yellow cards. ECFC striker Jordan Brown is eligible for the team’s next game finishing a three-game suspension from an off-field incident. The team sits in ninth place with an 8-6-4 record with 28 points.

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.

Undermanned Electric City Football Club Squeezes 1-0 Win To Continue Playoff Push

/

Despite not having their top striker or head coach, Electric City Football Club (ECFC) Men’s team's lone goal was enough to defeat Darby FC on the road to keep themselves in the League1 Ontario playoff hunt on Friday.

Connor Brown (right) shakes off a Simcoe County Rovers FC midfielder. Brown had the team’s lone goal scorer in Friday’s contest. Photo courtesy of ECFC.

They earned the win despite not having suspended head coach Randy Riberio (excessive yellow cards) and top striker Jordan Brown (undisclosed incident) in the team’s lineup.

The first half was quiet as both teams had a 0-0 draw into the half.

ECFC midfielder quickly broke the tie in the 50th minute as midfielder Connor Brown scored with a header off a fortunate rebound.

Electric City forced a turnover in the midfield and advanced into opposing territory through the sideline on a give and go. A centring pass went in front of Darby’s net and ECFC had a shot on net with a header. The ball rebounded off the keeper’s hands and Brown gave his own header for to eventually get the 1-0 win.

The win earns another three points for ECFC as they stand at 28 points. They are in ninth place in the standings. The team is nine points behind Simcoe Country Rovers who are in sixth place and occupy the final playoff spot.

ECFC must earn points in their four remaining games including at least three wins to remain in the playoff hunt. Simcoe currently holds the tiebreaker over ECFC due to more overall goals scored throughout the regular season. The ECFC women’s team has been eliminated from playoff contention.

Riberio can return to coaching as this game was his second of the two-game suspension. Brown is not playing in the team’s next match against Alliance United at home this Wednesday since he is serving a three-game suspension. He can be reinstated for Sunday’s road game against Vaughan Azzurri.

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.

Undermanned Electric City Football Club Men's Team Lose 2-1 In Inaugural Trent Severn Cup; First Home Defeat

/

The undermanned Electric City Football Club (ECFC) coughed up two goals in the last ten minutes for a 2-1 loss against the Simcoe County Rovers in the inaugural Trent Severn Cup on Saturday.

The match would be decided by penalty kicks if it was a draw after regulation. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

ECFC head coach Randy Riberio was suspended for two games for accumulative yellow cards. Striker and team-leading scorer Jordan Brown was suspended for three games for a ‘league incident’ according to Riberio.

"Jordan's a leader on the field for us,” said Ribierio. “He's our leading goal-scorer and so we definitely missed his presence today but we have full trust in all the players we have on the squad to the jobs we needed to do and I thought overall today, we were the better team but unfortunately we fell asleep for the last ten minutes."

The cup was created in mid-June to help spark both clubs in their first year with League1 Ontario.

“Both franchises have shown a great desire to compete at the highest standards and strive to participate at the highest level in the Canadian Soccer landscape,” said John Copp, HDSA president. “The Districts want to help kick off these franchises' inaugural season and provide the groundwork for what we expect will be a long (friendly) rivalry between two top League 1 Ontario Clubs.”

The cup winner is determined by the combined score of both men’s and women’s teams. The women drew to a 1-1 on June 15.

Electric City got on the board first with a goal from Mohammad Reza Nafar in the eighth minute off a soft corner kick pass. Reza Nafar juked through two Rovers and had his shot sail by several defenders and the keeper on the left-side bottom corner.

Simcoe keeper Richard Gomes protested the corner-kick call to no avail as he made a save on a ball going wide of the net. The official claimed the ball went out of bounds and was last touched by a Rover for the corner kick.

“I didn't expect the ball to come to me,” said Reza Nafar. “I was kind of in shock when I saw the ball and it was just instinctive what I did and I saw an opportunity to shoot and I did.”

Simcoe had an uncontested shot in the box after forcing an ECFC turnover in the 32nd minute. Electric City keeper Quillan Roberts made a diving save to keep it 1-0 into the half.

Simcoe got a free kick in the 58th minute but had their shot sail wide of the net as the first quality scoring chance of the second half.

ECFC had their own free kick in the 65th minute but Reza Nefar had his shot go high and wide as the team’s first quality chance of the half.

The lone goal-scorer tried to make amends forcing a turnover shortly after the missed free kick. He forced a turnover and made a centring pass to freshly substituted Benjamin Vyfshaft but just went out of reach for a one-timer goal.

Simcoe stormed back late in the 86th minute with a goal from Jacob Grant to tie it 1-1. He zipped it past a diving Roberts from a cross pass in front of the net.

Vyfshaft received a centring pass during extra time but could not beat a diving Gomes and kept the game tied.

Justin Yarde clinched it for Simcoe County as he beat Roberts over the to after a midfield turnover by ECFC.

This was the second consecutive men’s home game where they allowed a goal in extra time in the second half to lose their lead.

“Lack of concentration in the last ten minutes,” said Rob Clarke, ECFC interim head coach. "Two mistakes cost us goals and we can't let that happen against a good Simcoe team. We'll remember this one. Hopefully, we can learn from this moving forward."

The men’s next game is against Darby FC on Friday as their second-last road game of the season.

Sunday’s women’s game against Vaughan Azzurri was postponed due to weather conditions 23 minutes into their match. Their final regular-season game will be concluded at a later date.

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.