Also: Will another MUFC team follow suit? Huntsville Strikers updates, TFC’s new coach and a win (finally), Messi still hasn’t lost in Miami, Big matches this weekend in Europe

The Muskoka United FC U15 girls are Huronia District Soccer League (HDSL) champions after a 3-2 win over Collingwood on Tuesday night at Gostick Park in Bracebridge.

Chase MacKinnon scored twice with Maisy Moore adding the other in MUFC’s title clinching victory.

While their bid for an undefeated season was upended on August 22 in a 3-0 away defeat to Nipssing, the MUFC girls (9-1-1) bounced back this week with a tremendous effort to win the league with one match to play.

The last match of the season for the whole league will see MUFC travel to Collingwood on September 12 and their coaching staff is hoping for another win to put the cherry on top of this week’s result.

The MUFC U15 girls season roster consists of Bella Bonden, Chase MacKinnon, Claire Allison, Elodie Lefebvre, Emily Nicholson, Jamie Demos, Jolene Allair, Josephine Gueriero, Kate Pollington, Leah Maxwell, Maddie Allison, Mahua Gupta, Maisy Moore, Maja Lettress, Maya Hamer, Olivia Chapman, Sarah McKay, Zoe Doyle, and Zoe Janke.

The team staff were made up of co-coaches Matt McKay and Graham Pollington, training coaches Cathy Janke and Chuck Lefebvre, and team manager Robin Allison.

Another HDSL Title on the Way?

The Muskoka United FC U17 Boys kept their undefeated league season intact with a strong 7-1 away win over Barrie on Tuesday night.

Noah Graham had two goals, while Johnny Fiorini, Alfie Napper, Rowan Simpson, Tyler Horvath Thompson, Callahan Alexander also scored for Huntsville.

The U17 boys are now preparing for their potential league winning match at Gostick Park on Tuesday, September 5.

A win will be the MUFC U17 Boys are crowned league champions with one game to spare and Coach Dave Caplan is encouraging the soccer community in Muskoka to show up and support the U17 Boys.

Kick off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Other MUFC Results

The U15 Boys lost a tough one 3-2 away to Inter FC on Thursday night. Lucas Hills scored both Muskoka goals. Their next game is on September 7 at Gostick Park against Markham.

The U13 Boys (in the HDSL U14 division) finished their season with a 3-2 loss away to Wasaga Beach on Tuesday night. Tyler Pink and Wolfgang Kuehnen scored for MUFC. They finish up with four wins and six losses and in third place on the year. Not bad for playing competition that was a year or more older.

The U17 Girls hosted Vaughan on Wednesday night at Gostick Park. Result will be updated once it is made available. Their next game is away to Lake Simcoe on September 6.

The Muskoka United U13 Girls fell 5-0 against Nipissing in North Bay on August 28 I-Model C2 division play. Their next match is on Saturday, September 9 at Conroy Park in Huntsville against Whitby.

HUNTSVILLE STRIKERS ROUND-UP

On the Strikers rep development side of things, the U11 girls finished their league season on a five-game unbeaten run that included three straight home victories to end the year.

Last weekend, the U11 Girls defeated Barrie 2-1 on Saturday with Lily Boyes and Savannah Loates scoring for Huntsville. Then on Monday, in a tense affair against Orillia, the Strikers picked up a 1-0 victory with Boyes scoring the lone goal.

Though the HDSL season is done, the U11 Girls are planning to attend a festival later this month.

The U10 Girls hosted Barrie on Thursday night. Last week, Mackenna Gibbons scored their lone goal in a 1-0 win over Bracebridge.

The U10 Boys ended their league season on Monday night with an 8-2 home loss to Nipissing. Atticus Kuehnen and Henry Lapp scored for Huntsville. Kuehnen finished among the league scoring leaders with nine goals on the season.

tfc hire new coach and get a win (finally!)

This week was an interesting one from Toronto FC.

First they announce the hiring of soon-to-be former Canadian Men’s National Team coach John Herdman as their new permanent head coach as of October 1, then the team goes out and puts together a solid performance to win 3-1 over Philadelphia on Wednesday night – with Herdman in attendance of course.

I’m still not certain this is the right move considering Herdman’s resume lacks any club football experience, with so many of his national team players (men and women) singing his praises as a motivator, however I’ll reserve any pre-judgements and wait to see what the results are.

One thing he needs to do is ensure he builds the team around Lorenzo Insigne, Federico Bernadeschi and Jonathan Osorio – perhaps even Raoul Petretta and a couple young Canadians can stay too.

In terms of the win, let’s see if they can string one or two more together as the season winds down.

messi still undefeated in Miami

I really, really thought that Inter Miami would fall to Nashville on Wednesday this week. While it wasn’t another win for Messi and Friends, it was still a draw.

The big takeaway from Miami’s 0-0 draw, from my point of view, is the fact Nashville has held Inter Miami and Messi to only one goal in 180 minutes of football action in the past month. That was a 23rd minute goal by Messi himself in the Leagues Cup final.

On Wednesday, despite having the lion’s share of possession, Miami only managed four shots on target (13 total shots).

Other teams should be seeing what Nashville is doing well and emulate it when visiting or hosting this Miami team.

The watch is on for who can take the first bite out of a Miami team that is going to make a serious run at a playoff spot despite being in last place in the entire MLS only a couple of weeks ago.

Or maybe Inter Messi & Friends never lose again and we’re witnessing one of the greatest sports stories in history. (yeah, I know I copied and pasted that from last week’s Football Friday column – it still fits until it doesn’t).

Next up is a trip to play at Los Angeles FC on Sunday. Kick-off is 10 p.m. LAFC is sitting in second place in the Western Conference and features a strong line-up that is capable of giving Miami’s stars fits.

We’ll be watching.

All MLS league matches are streamed by MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

europe’s BIG MATCHES this weekend

Starting with Serie A, the two winless Roman clubs are already facing a pair of huge, almost must-win matches this weekend. Yeah, I know it’s only two matches into the season, but they both should have two wins right now based on who they played.

As it stands, they do not and now Bella AS Roma hosts co-league leaders AC Milan (Friday at 2:45 p.m.), while Brutto Lazio travel to Napoli for a 2:45 p.m. kick-off on Saturday.

In the English Premier League, Saturday brings us Brighton hosting Newcastle at 12:45 p.m. in a match-up of clubs with big aspirations this season. Both are looking to achieve a Top 4 finish, which Newcastle did last year, and the Champions League berth that comes with it.

Sunday’s big match has Arsenal hosting Manchester United with both teams knowing only a win will help them keep pace with defending champion Manchester City. Kick-off is at 11:30 a.m.

All Serie A and EPL matches are streamed live on FuboTV.

The Bundesliga’s best weekend match-ups are Hoffenheim-Wolfsburg on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. and Union Berlin-Leipzig on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. Bundesliga matches are streamed live on DAZN.

Elsewhere, Barcelona travels to Osasuna on Sunday (TSN+) in La Liga action; and Lyon hosts PSG on Sunday (FuboTV).

That’s what I have for this week! Stay tuned for our weekly Football Friday column featuring news from professional leagues, national teams, and our local Muskoka clubs.