Peterborough Blogs
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.
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.
Peterborough City U14 Girls Defend Title As Back-to-Back Soccer Champions
/The Peterborough City U14 Girls of the Durham Region Soccer League have defended their championship, going back-to-back with a 3-1 win over Northumberland United on Tuesday.
The Peterborough U14 team captured their second-straight Tier 1 division title. Grace Plunkett struck twice for two scores and Charlotte Donaldson found the back of the net for Peterborough. Ellie Lewington kept the scoresheet low for her opponents as the goalkeeper, getting a league-leading eight shutouts on the season.
The team capped off an undefeated season of 12 wins and one draw.
The championship season saw the U14 girls have three top 10 goal-scorers in Plunkett (18), Danica Bennett (9) and Donaldson (9).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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! pic.twitter.com/ia7tmw2tH8
— Holly O'Neill (@htoneill14) January 17, 2023