THUNDER BAY – SPORTS – The Thunder Bay Chill (7-2-2) are headed into what could be the weekend they clinch a playoff spot and the Heartland Division, a title they have won 6 times in the last 10 seasons and that has eluded them since 2013 when the Chill went on to the PDL Championship game in Austin, Texas.
The Chill came home from a successful road trip to Missouri where they took 7 out of a possible 9 points to find themselves at the top of the Heartland Division. A win on either Friday or Sunday will clinch a playoff spot for the Chill, but it will take two victories in the Chill’s remaining 3 games at home to secure the Heartland Division title. However, standing in the Chill’s way will be Saint Louis FC U23 (4-3-4) on Friday night at 7:30 pm and Chicago United FC (3-2-5) on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 pm. The final home game of the Chill’s regular season will be against the St. Louis Lions on Wednesday July 12th, at 7:30 pm. All games will be played at tbaytelplace at Fort William Statdium.
Five out of the six teams in the division are still in play for the division title or second place with both teams advancing to the Central Conference Championship the weekend of July 21st-23rd. “Anything is still possible” said Chill head coach Giovanni Petraglia. “If we continue to win, no one can catch us, so it would be nice to wrap things up this weekend” he continued. A win against Saint Louis FC U23 won’t come easy. The two clubs tied 0-0 in Collinsville, Il on June 29th.
Chill midfielder Abraham Villon scored two goals and an assist to help secure results against the St. Louis Lions over the Canada Day weekend. Chill Keeper David Elias has 6 clean sheets this season with 3 coming on the road this past week. His efforts got him on the PDL Team of the Week and the stingy Chill defense has only allowed 4 goals against, which is the lowest in PDL.
Villon and Brandon Swartzendruber lead the Chill in goal scoring with 4 each. Villon also leads the team with 4 assists. Still day to day is Sullivan Silva who saw limited action this past weekend nurturing a lower body injury.
Chicago FC United defeated Saint Louis FC U23 on Wednesday evening keeping their playoff hopes alive. United sits 5th in the division with 4 games remaining in their schedule. The Chill and Chicago tied 1-1 on June 16th in a game played in Rockford, Il.
The Thunder Bay Chill plays in the 72 team prospect focused Premier Development League (PDL) which is the top developmental men’s league in North America.
