VAUGHAN, Ont. - Conestoga College is the 2011 Ontario Colleges
Athletic Association (OCAA) men's soccer bronze medalists after a
narrow 1-0 win over St. Clair College on Saturday at the Ontario
Soccer Centre in Vaughan, Ont.
Defender Martin Mielnick scored on a penalty kick
early in the second half to give Conestoga its first OCAA medal in
men's soccer since it won bronze in 1998.
St. Clair controlled the offensive zone for most of the first
half, coming close on a number of occasions to scoring the initial
goal. A breakaway opportunity by forward Ronald
Mayorga was negated by Conestoga goaltender Joey
Frank, with the ball eventually ringing off the goal
post.
St. Clair had an opportunity on a free kick at the end of the
half, but the game remained scoreless at halftime.
The referee awarded Conestoga a penalty kick early in the second
half, which was initially saved by St. Clair goalkeeper
Joey Plavetic, but he was ruled to have jumped off
the goal line early. Mielnick made good on his second chance,
knocking in his rebound to put Conestoga up for good.
Seconds later, St. Clair missed on an opportunity to tie the
score, when Jordan Lidia knocked the ball over the
Conestoga crossbar.
Conestoga's Aleksandar Radosevic missed on a
similar play at the other end, kicking his shot over the St. Clair
crossbar.
The Condors went into defensive mode for the rest of the half, as
they began to limit St. Clair scoring chances.
The Saints made one last push at the end of the game.
Robert Malbasic was hauled down inside the 18 yard
box, but Jeff Martins made the save on
Brian Santos penalty kick.
St. Clair hit another post towards the end of regulation, but
clearly the Saints were snakebitten in this contest.
Nathan Greene of Conestoga and Hamza
Mezahi of St. Clair were named players of the game for
their respective teams.
Conestoga finished its season with an overall record of 6-4-1,
while St. Clair dropped to 5-6-0.
An archive of the game can be seen on SportsLive.ca.
Website: www.ocaa.com/championships/2011-12/soccer
Championship Location
The Soccer Centre
7601 Martin Grove Road
Vaughan, Ontario
Championship Schedule/Results
Friday, October 28
Semi-Finals
Sheridan 1, St. Clair 0 (Final)
Humber 5, Conestoga 0 (Final)
Saturday, October 29
Bronze Medal Game
Conestoga 1, St. Clair 0 (Final)
Gold Medal Game
Humber vs. Sheridan - 3 p.m.
- OCAA -
ABOUT ONTARIO COLLEGES ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
The Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) is a recognized
leader in intercollegiate athletics in the province, dedicated to
student athlete and sport development. The OCAA has 31 members
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