Wolves earn second win
Elijah Caparello-Wanless is back home and the 21-year-old St. Catharines native couldn’t be happier.
Caparello-Wanless has returned to the St. Catharines Club Roma Wolves League1 men’s team after a stint in Italy and some time with the Oakville Blue Devils.
“Starting off here, I always knew Roma had something else that other League1 teams don’t have and that’s the beautiful facilities and the atmosphere,” Caparello-Wanless said. “It’s always hard to say no to come back. It’s always a privilege.
“Going elsewhere, I realized being so close to home and having this is something that you don’t come by all the time.”
Caparello-Wanless said he has been welcomed back with open arms.
“It’s the fans, the field, the coaches who I have a great relationship with that are always so welcoming and everyone is so supportive, it’s pretty hard to say no,” he said.
Caparello-Wanless, who is a graduate of Saint Francis Secondary School, spent a season in Italy where he grew as both a player and a person.
“It was amazing,” he said. “Obviously, being Canadian there was the language barrier and things like that but it really helped me mature and grow. I was fresh out of high school and took a gap year and got right into playing soccer in a foreign country on my own.
“It really matured me.”
Caparello-Wanless is no stranger to travelling for soccer.
The competitive fullback has played in Chicago, Philadelphia, Colorado and Rochester as well as for the Toronto FC Academy.
He plans to use that experience to help the Wolves, on and off the pitch.
“On the field I have to do my job but off the field I want to get everyone going the best they can,” he said. “My personality helps with that so I try and be a voice on and off the field. Take care of business on the field but off the field is important too.”
Caparello-Wanless feels chemistry is a must.
“There’s a lot of teams out there with a lot of talent but if the morale is not there on the team, that’s going to translate to the field,” he said. “One of the most import things is the lockeroom. At the end of the day, it’s a team sport. We all have to be on same page.”
Roma head coach Federico Turriziani is thrilled to see the return of Caparello-Wanless.
“It makes us proud, it means what they find here is unique. It means we are in a good way,” he said.
On the field, Turriziani said Caparello-Wanless is a perfect fit.
“He’s a leftback who is good physically and has a good personality,” Turriziani said. “We’ve struggled and he fit perfect on our roster. He already knew everybody. He knew the club so it’s not difficult for him to engage with the group and the coaching staff.”
Caparello-Wanless attends Malone University in Ohio where he in majoring in business with a minor in marketing. He would like to work in a sports related field and is also hoping to play professionally.
The Wolves topped Pickering FC 3-1 Friday night to pick up their second win of the season.
Ronaldo Homenszki, Gerard Forner and Mason Petrucci scored for Roma.
“We hope to move up in the standings,” Turriziani said. “The results are very important. We’ve made some crucial mistakes in important games and that’s affected our confidence.
“We have to bring our confidence back up. The last three games we’ve played very well. We hope now with new mentality we can get the points we lost.”
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