Simcoe County Rovers prepare for biggest game of lives
It was picture and media day for the Simcoe County Rovers on Wednesday as they get ready for the biggest game of their lives.
After winning last year's League One Ontario championship, the Rovers earned the right to participate in the upcoming Telus Canadian Championship.
The Rovers' first opponent will be TFC.
"Getting to play TFC is a dream come true in a situation like this. It's tough because you want to play the best of the best, and when you get the best of the best in a tournament like this, it's both eye-opening, but it's also very exciting," says Justin Thomas with the Rovers.
The Rovers practiced in the rain this morning in Aurora. Their focus now is on the upcoming game against TFC and the opportunity that lies ahead.
"We are super excited. I think we have worked hard for this opportunity, and I think we just have to showcase ourselves and get the best of it," says Cameron Dasilva with the team.
The club has a couple of new faces, but the core of the team is back to defend its title.
The team is aware that the game represents a lot more than an opportunity for the players. The team's head coach says this kind of success could benefit the sport and the community moving forward.
"It's an exciting opportunity for every inspiring athlete in the City of Barrie and every young soccer player that understanding there are opportunities out there, you know, to reach the next level, and it's a good eye opener to see we are able to compete with the best and be part of a competition that allows us to do that," says head coach Zico Mahrady.
"It's two teams on the same field with the same ball. It's another game we can't really play to the occasion because none of us have been in a game like that, so it's more play it as if it's another regular-season game," says Thomas.
The big game between the Rovers and TFC is next Wednesday at BMO Field in Toronto. Tickets are still available.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW Is there a cost to convenience? Canada approves new cancer immunotherapy treatment
A new cancer treatment recently approved in Canada promises to cut treatment time down to just minutes, but experts have differing opinions on whether it's what's best for patients.
Air Canada walks back new seat selection policy change after backlash
Air Canada has paused a new seat selection fee for travellers booked on the lowest fares just days after implementing it.
Canada's new dental program offering hope of free care to millions but many dentists aren't signed up
A new Canadian dental care program is offering the hope of free care to millions, but while 1.7 million people have signed up for the plan, only about 5,000 dentists have done the same.
Province boots mayor and council in small northern Ont. town out of office
An ongoing municipal strike, court battles and revolt by half of council has prompted the province to oust the mayor and council in Black River-Matheson.
King Charles III returns to public duties with a trip to a cancer charity
King Charles III will return to public duties on Tuesday when he visits a cancer treatment charity, beginning his carefully managed comeback after the monarch’s own cancer diagnosis sidelined him for three months.
NDP says Ottawa's new grocery task force isn't living up to government promises
The federal government says the task force it created to monitor and investigate grocery retailers' practices has not conducted any probes and doesn't have a mandate to take enforcement action.
Archeologists search for remnants of Halifax's 250-year-old wall that surrounded the city
Archeologist Jonathan Fowler is using ground-penetrating radar to search for historic evidence of the massive wall that surrounded Halifax more than 250 years ago.
Kazakhstan arrests ex-interior minister in connection with unrest that left 238 dead
Authorities in Kazakhstan arrested a former interior minister on Tuesday, in connection with deadly police crackdown on unrest that gripped the country in 2022, Kazakh news media reported.
A group of Toronto tenants have been on a rent strike for a year and say there's no resolution in sight
Dozens of tenants in Toronto's Thorncliffe Park area have now been withholding their rent for one year, and it’s unclear when the dispute will end.