FC Women can’t make up ground; Majors in a rut

Gameday in 5: A look to the week ahead — and a recap of the week that was (June 12-18) — for London’s teams and athletes.

(Photo: Martin Bazyl / League1 Ontario).

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London Majors

The Majors’ woes continued last week, as the team saw its losing streak extended to five games — though both losses ended up as close contests.

With a chance to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs for the first time this year on Friday, the Majors fell short, losing by a 7-5 margin. Newly signed import pitcher Anfernee Benitez got his Majors career off to a rocky start, allowing six runs — and an unsightly 11 walks — in just 2 2/3 innings of work. He gave up three hits and struck out two. Skylar Janisse, who came on in relief, allowed a run of his own in the 4th, but from there the bullpen was lights out, tossing five scoreless innings. In the meantime, the Majors tried to mount a comeback. London scored runs in four of the final five innings, but ultimately came up short, leaving two men on base in the ninth.

Myles Miller, playing in his first game of the year for the Majors, went 3-for-5 with a triple and an RBI. Tommy Reyes-Cruz, Starling Joseph and Andrew Lawrence also picked up RBIs. Joseph was 2-for-3 with a home run and a walk, while Lawrence reached base twice.

Sunday’s Father’s Day game played out in similar fashion, as the Majors lost 5-4 to the Barrie Baycats to drop their season record to 4-8. Pedro De Los Santos got the start for London and pitched decently, allowing five runs (four earned) on nine hits in 7 innings. He walked two and struck out eight. Ahead 3-0, the Baycats added a pair of insurance runs with a two-run homer in the seventh to extend their lead.

After being shut down all afternoon by Barrie’s Frank Garces, who struck out 10 over seven scoreless innings, the Majors finally mustered some offense in the 8th — and they rallied to draw things to within a run. Keith Kandel knocked in the team’s first run, a single that scored Drew Lawrence. Later, with the bases loaded, Starling Joseph ripped a bases-clearing double. Cleveland Brownlee was hit by a pitch, putting runners on first and second with one out, but the Majors were unable to push another run across and fell short.

Up next:

The Majors will look to get back in the win column this week with a trio of road games, beginning Thursday in Kitchener.

Thurs. June 22 (7:30pm @ Kitchener Panthers)
Fri. June 23 (7:35pm @ Hamilton Cardinals)
Sat. June 24 (7:30pm @ Guelph Royals)

FC London

Coming in with points in four straight (two wins, two draws), the Women’s team was unable to extend that streak against the top team in the league, Vaughan Azzurri, on Saturday, as they lost a 2-1 decision on home turf at Tricar Field.

FC London got off to a strong start, and Charlotte Cromack opened the scoring for the squad with her fourth of the season in the 28th minute. The home side held the lead through halftime, but the Azzurri tied things up in the 48th minute — and then scored the eventual game winner in the 65th minute, holding onto the lead from that point on. FC London is now 3-3-3 on the year, still in the middle of the pack in League1 Ontario standings.

The Men’s team, meanwhile, continued a difficult run since they posted points in three straight in May. In June, they’ve gone 0-3, including Saturday’s 4-0 loss to a tough Scrosoppi FC squad. Playing on the road, FC London fell behind early (in the 3rd minute) and then entered halftime trailing 2-0. Scrosoppi FC then continued their strong play in the second half, scoring an insurance goal early (46th minute) and another late (88th minute) for the convincing win.

Up next:

After a lengthy home stretch, FC London’s Women’s team (3-3-3) will hit the road this Sunday for a match against another strong side, the Woodbridge Strikers (6-2-3). On Saturday, the Men (1-6-2) will host Electric City FC (5-3-2) at Tricar Field.

Women:
Sun. June 25 (3:00pm @ Woodbridge Strikers)

Men:
Sat. June 24 (6:00pm vs. Electric City FC)