TORONTO - West will be best at the 2011 Ontario Colleges
Athletic Association (OCAA) Men's Soccer Championship.
The OCAA West region has a monopoly over this year's championship,
with four of the eight teams that make up the division advancing to
the tournament. With all four teams being familiar with one
another, coaches will no doubt have an easier time developing game
plans against these divisional opponents.
The team to beat is defending champion Humber, who finished the
regular season with the top record in the OCAA West region, tied
with last year's runner-up Sheridan. Both teams battled to a
scoreless draw during the regular season, but Humber earned the top
seed due to a better regular season goal differential. Humber edged
Sheridan 2-1 in a spirited comeback in last year's gold medal game.
There is no doubt Sheridan would love to have some retribution this
weekend.
Standing in their way is the upstart Conestoga Condors and St.
Clair Saints. Conestoga and St. Clair earned quarter-final road
victories in Ottawa last weekend to earn a spot at the
championships. The last time either team won an OCAA medal of any
colour was back in 2000.
Humber College (7-0-1, 1st West)
The Humber Hawks became the first OCAA men's soccer champion
outside of Algonquin since 2003. They are now two wins from
building a dynasty of their own.
Similar to their female counterparts, Humber excels in putting the
ball into the net at one end while keeping it out in the other. The
Hawks scored 27 regular season goals, while allowing just four.
Yousuf Mohammad (Toronto) leads Humber in goal
scoring this season, netting seven goals. Roberto
Galle (Toronto), Mario Orestano
(Woodbridge, Ont.) and Carlos Rojas (Brampton,
Ont.) have also been key contributers for the Hawks, with four
goals each.
Mohammad netted a pair of goals in a 4-1 quarter-final home victory
over Fleming-Peterborough last Saturday.
Sheridan I.T. (7-0-1, 2nd West)
Sheridan, the defending OCAA silver medalists, scored two fewer
goals and allowed four more goals than Humber during the regular
season, but are still just as dangerous.
Thirteen Bruins scored goals this season, led by David
Velastegui's four. Velastegui (Quito, Ecuador) was named
OCAA men's soccer rookie of the year in 2010.
Sheridan needed overtime to defeat Seneca 2-0 in its quarter-final
game. Velastegui scored both Bruins goals.
Conestoga College (4-3-1, 3rd West)
Conestoga may have a worse regular season record than Humber and
Sheridan, but the Condors are arguably the hottest team in OCAA
winning five straight matches.
The Condors defeated La Cite on the road 2-1 in Sunday's
quarter-final. Osmansoy Osman (Waterloo, Ont.) and
Aleksandar Radosevic (Kitchener, Ont.) both scored
for Conestoga. La Cite (5-0-2) had not lost a game during the
regular season.
Martin Mielnick scored six goals for Conestoga
during the regular season, while teammate Felipe
Araque contributed four. Both players are from Kitchener,
Ont.
St. Clair College (4-4-0, 4th West)
Similar to Conestoga, St. Clair traveled to Ottawa and defeated
Algonquin 3-1 in quarter-final action on Saturday. Algonquin had
been undefeated with a 6-0-1 record.
Jordan Lidia (Leamington, Ont.) scored all three
goals for St. Clair in the victory.
It has already been an eventful season for the Saints, with
Robert Malbasic (Windsor, Ont.) setting the OCAA
all-time goals record with 55 to his credit. Malbasic led the
Saints with 10 goals during the regular season, followed by Lidia's
six.
OCAA Semi-Finals
Sheridan vs. St. Clair
Sheridan defeated St. Clair 4-1 in their only regular season
meeting back on Sept. 25.
Scoring goals for Sheridan were Velastegui, Marco
Colangelo (Toronto), Brandon McKinlay
(Burlington, Ont.) and Bismark Marni (Kwasi,
Ghana). Replying for St. Clair was Malbasic.
The Bruins have won two straight over St. Clair the past two
seasons.
Humber vs. Conestoga
Humber blanked Conestoga 3-0 on Sept. 28.
Orestano did most of the offensive damage for Humber, scoring two
goals. Stavros Badunas (Brampton, Ont.) also
scored for Humber.
Humber tied Conestoga 2-2 in regular season action in 2010.
Winners of each semi-final game advance to the gold medal game.
Losing semi-final teams compete in the bronze medal game. All games
will take place at The Soccer Centre in Vaughan, Ont. Games played
on the OSA Turf Field will be webcast live on Sportslive.ca.
Website: www.ocaa.com/championships/2011-12/soccer
Championship Location
The Soccer Centre
7601 Martin Grove Road
Vaughan, Ontario
Championship Schedule
Friday, October 28
Semi-Finals
Sheridan vs. St. Clair - City of Vaughan Turf Field - 3 p.m.
Humber vs. Conestoga - OSA Turf Field - 3:30 p.m.
Saturday, October 29
Bronze Medal Game
Semi-Final Losers - City of Vaughan Turf Field - 9:30 a.m.
Gold Medal Game
Semi-Final Winners - OSA Turf Field - 3 p.m.
- OCAA -
ABOUT ONTARIO COLLEGES ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
The Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) is a recognized
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sponsoring 16 league and tournament championships.
For additional information please contact:
Josh Bell-Webster
Marketing and Communications
Ontario Colleges Athletic Association
Tel: 416-426-7041
Fax: 416-426-7308
E-mail: bell-webster@ocaa.com