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Sports Oakville Beaver By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · SATURDAY, MAY 27, 2006 37 Raiders romp to Halton girls' soccer AA title The St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders didn't take long to assert their dominance in the Halton high school senior girls' soccer AA final. Aquinas scored in the opening minute of yesterday's championship game in Burlington, then added four more before halftime en route to a 7-0 blanking of the Milton District Mustangs. With his team facing a squad comprised largely of rep players, Milton District coach Richard Grant knew the Mustangs were in for a challenge. Yielding the early goal to the Raiders' Victoria Miliucci certainly didn't help the cause. "We have a good group of girls that plays hard every game, but 34 seconds into the game and a goal... there's no hope in hell," Grant said. "Traditionally, once our school gets behind the eight-ball, it's hard coming back." Katherine Driedzic added a pair for Aquinas, with Ashlee Michee, Jane Arrizza, Andrea Adamic and Cassy Russo also finding the net. Taryn McKenna, rarely tested in the Raiders' goal, recorded the shutout as Aquinas qualified for the upcoming provincial AA championship tournament in Peterborough. Driedzic said her team was expecting a tougher game from Milton, which represented Halton at the AA Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations tournament a year ago, but Miliucci's quick goal helped set the tone. "We don't do that (score early) very often and it really brought up the morale of the team," said the 17-year-old Grade 12 student, who quit playing rep soccer two years ago because of a severe groin injury. Aquinas used to playing larger schools "(The one-sided win) could be a testament to the fact Oakville's always been known to have a really strong soccer club, and it could also be a testament to the fact that we play AAAA (larger) schools (during the regular season)," she added. "We play the harder teams whereas Acton and Milton have the smaller schools." Milton rolled through its regular-season schedule, finishing second in the North Division with a 4-1 mark and outscoring its opponents 17-7. The Raiders, meanwhile, posted a 3-11 mark in the East. "We do have some stronger individuals, but our success has definitely come when we play strong as a team. Our girls have been really committed," Aquinas co-coach Justin Yantho said. "St. Thomas definitely has a lot of pride when it comes to academics and sports, and that carries through to our staff and to our students." Grant was more than willing to concede that the Raiders were the stronger team and deserve to represent Halton at the provincial AA tournament. "They wanted the game and they deserved the game. We wish them best of luck (at OFSAA) because they're going to be a good representative of AA in Halton," he said. "Competing with the Oakville and Burlington schools is tough because we don't have the club programs, but if we lock up the North, we're happy with that." The OFSAA AA championships are slated for June 5-7. KEVIN HILL / SPECIAL TO THE OAKVILLE BEAVER COLLISION COURSE: Jessie Barrett of the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders (14) topples over Milton District keeper Georgia Brooks Hanock as Mustangs' Genevieve Vanderbreggen looks on during yesterday's Halton high school senior girls' soccer AA championship game in Burlington. Aquinas won 7-0 to advance to next month's provincial AA championship tournament in Peterborough. Reding denies Aquinas in boys' final By Steve LeBlanc SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Winning a championship is tough, but holding onto it is almost always tougher. St. Thomas Aquinas' senior boys' soccer team learned that age-old adage the hard way at Burlington's Brant Hills Park Friday afternoon. Despite striking first in their title rematch with the Bishop Reding Royals, the Raiders' Halton AA championship repeat bid fell a couple of goals short as their Milton rivals prevailed 3-1. Hopes for a successful title defense got a huge shot in the arm almost before the game really got rolling, as Aquinas' Julian Fabiani capitalized on a close-range free kick within the opening minute of play. However, Reding enjoyed a clear edge in terms of both effort and execution over the balance of the championship showdown - knotting things up midway through the first half and jumping ahead with two more deposits shortly after intermission. "As much as I told our guys how good BR is, I'm not sure they really realized how good," said Aquinas head coach Peter Szpakowski, whose team was 12-1 overall heading into Friday's clash and had given up just five goals this spring. While the Raiders gave the eventual champs a few anxious moments down the stretch -- with key scoring opportunities by Evan Kadet and Canadian Under-19 player Kyle Oliveira -- they lost the See Raiders page 40