Soccerfest 2009 was held at the Fletchers Field Rugby Club, 2743-19th Avenue, Markham, Ontario; on Sunday July 19.The event which has been held at The G. Ross Lord Park in Toronto for many years, had to find a different venue this year as a result of industrial action taken by the employees of the City of Toronto.
Fourteen teams competed for The Alliance Cup. They were: Calabar, Clarendon College, Cornwall College, Edwin Allen, Holmwood, Jamaica College, Kingston College, Kingston Technical, Meadowbrook, Morant Bay, Munro/Hampton, Rusea’s, St. Elizabeth Technical & Titchfield.
Kingston College prevailed (in a shoot out 1-0), over a very strong Cornwall College squad to be the first winners of the Alliance Cup.
K.C. got to the finals by winning their group in the round robin, then getting by Kingston Technical 1-0 in a quarterfinal match and Morant Bay 1-0 (in a shoot out); in the semi-final.Cornwall placed second behind Munro/Hampton in their round robin group, defeated Holmwood 3-0 in the quarter finals before edgeing arch rivals Rusea’s 1-0 in the semi-final; to pave the way for their entry into the final.
In The Masters Invitational Match, the all DaCosta Team defeated the all Manning team 3-0 and was awarded The Jamaica National Oversea’s (Canada) Shield.
Jamaica Ambassadors edged Unity Soccer Club 1-0 and was awarded The VMBS Invitational Cup.
St. Elizabeth Technical having been judged as the most sportsmanlike team, was awarded The Oswald U. Murray Trophy for good sportsmanship.
Entertainment was provided throughout the day by Jamdown Sounds.
After Tournament live entertainment provided by Steele – Exco Levi – Mandy Woods – Mountain Edge Band.
Soccerfest is organized by The Alliance of Jamaican Alumni Associations (Toronto). The 2009 edition was sponsord by many community partners including: Victoria Mutual Building Society, JN Money Transfer, Western Union and Air Jamaica.
Below is a reprinted article about the Soccerfest from the July 28, 2009 edition of the local newspaper, Sharenews.
Bryan Evans kept his promise and delivered Kingston College its first Jamaica alumni Soccerfest title in 19 years.
They defeated Cornwall College 4-2 on penalty kicks after the score was tied, one-all, at the end of regulation time.
"Remember, I told you we were going to win it," the smiling team captain said to coach Norman Wallace after the championship match at Fletcher Field in Markham last Sunday.
KC has had to share the championship with Wolmers in the first Soccerfest in 1987 and with Clarendon College in1990.
"We have been consistent over the years, reaching the quarter-finals and semi-finals, but the championship game has eluded us for almost a decade," said Wallace, a former KC Alumni Association (Toronto) president. "You can tell from the celebration how sweet this victory is."
The nucleus of the winning team, including Evans, represents Ebony Soccer Club in the Ontario Soccer League.
KC shut out Meadowbrook High School and Clarendon College 1-0 before losing to 10-time champion Rusea's on the way to a quarter-final match-up with Kingston Technical High. KC prevailed 6-5 on penalty kicks after the regulation period failed to produce a goal.
One of Jamaica's oldest high schools, which opened in 1925, KC beat Morant Bay 1-0 in the semi-finals to earn a place in the final.
Wallace praised the team for turning in a winning performance.
"We had a 9 a.m. game and I was a bit concerned about the early start and the fact that we might not last the day," said Wallace. "We made it however, even though we suffered some injuries. Our school motto translates into 'The brave may fall but never yield' and that was exactly what you saw from our team today."
Goalkeeper Shane Lopez, whose father, Oliver, attended KC, was the team's Most Valuable Player. The former West Hill Collegiate player, who now attends Florida International, allowed just two goals in regulation time in six matches.
"Our entire team played well today, but Shane stood out and led the way," said Wallace. "He was stellar."
Cornwall bounced defending champions Rusea's which won the last three titles prior to last Sunday, thereby securing a meeting in the final with KC.
Last year's tournament was completely washed out by rain which means that KC is the first winner of the new Alliance of Jamaican Alumni Associations (AJAA) trophy which replaced the Winthorpe "Jackie" Bell and Dennis Ziadie memorial trophy.
Bell and Ziadie, two former Jamaican national players and coaches, were killed in an automobile accident while attending the 1986 World Cup soccer finals in Mexico City. The organizers of Soccerfest, which emerged out of the intense rivalry between neighbours Kingston College and St. George's College, learned of the fatalities on their way to purchase the trophy and unanimously decided to name it after the soccer stars.
KC alumnus Barry Huie and Gerry Lindo and St. George's Old Boys Neil Dalhousie, Michael Lym and Patrick "Skedron" Smith started Soccerfest which has become a summer highlight in the Greater Toronto Area's Jamaican community.
St. George's has not participated in the tournament since it severed ties with the AJAA 12 years ago because of philosophical differences.
The festival was moved this year from G. Ross Lord Park because of the Toronto city workers strike.
A total of 14 teams took part in Sunday's tournament. The contestants were KC, Rusea's, Clarendon College, Cornwall College, Edwin Allen High School, Holmwood, Jamaica College, Kingston Technical, Meadowbrook High School, Morant Bay, Munro-Hampton, St. Elizabeth Technical and Titchfield.
