WATCH OUT: Vaughan Italia Shooters Christos Myrtos tries to get out of the way of a North York Astros defender Sunday at St. Joan of Arc Stadium. The Shooters won the match 2-1 to secure a spot in the Canadian Soccer League playoffs. (Jim Humphrey/Vaughan Today)
When Nick Cisternino’s game-winning goal struck the back of the net Sunday, the Vaughan Italia Shooters knew they were heading to the playoffs and the North York Astros were going home.
But there were no champagne showers or high-fives after the game as the team walked down a darkly lit St. Joan of Arc CHS hallway to its dressing room.
The Shooters had only one thing on their minds: to win the Canadian Soccer League championship.
While the Shooters know they’ll face the Brampton Lions in the opening round of the post-season, they don’t want to be overconfident against the team they beat twice in the regular season.
“They have to match up against us,” said Robert Pugliese, Italia’s head coach.
Cisternino says the Shooters will be victorious in the first round.
“We feel pretty confident that we can come out with a win,” he said.
Kadian Lecky opened the scoring for the Italia Shooters in Sunday’s game against the Astros. He scored on a penalty kick after being tripped in the box by Astros defender Alexandre Oran. The goal came at the ninth minute. It was Lecky’s tenth goal of the campaign.
Following a 1-0 halftime score, the Astros Diego Maradona tied the game 1-1 at 58 minutes. At 84 minutes, Cisternino struck the winner for the Shooters, leaving a 2-1 final score.
“When I got the ball, I was thinking about hitting it right away, but I managed to get myself lined up with the far post,” Cisternino said. “I was able to get a good strike off and it ended up in the net.”
Heading into the match, the Shooters understood the importance of the Sunday afternoon game. A win and they were in, but a loss would mean a more difficult road.
“For us, it was more of a decisive game for the playoffs,” Cisternino said. “It was huge.”
While the Shooters defender was happy he was able to score the game winner, he wasn’t overly concerned about the fate of the Astros.
“I am always more concerned with our team and I don’t really worry about the opponents,” he said. “We needed a win and that is what we got, so we should be happy.”
The Shooters end the regular season at home Sept. 20 against the St. Catharines Wolves.
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