HOME STRETCH

Believe it or not, the OCAA men's soccer regular season wraps up this weekend on a number of fronts throughout the province.

The final match will be make-up game between crosstown rivals Centennial and George Brown next Monday.

Six teams from each of OCAA's two divisions advance to the post-season. The top two teams earn byes into the quarter-finals, while the remaining four teams battle each other in eight qualifying matches.

WORTH THE HYPE

Given the recent history between the Humber Hawks and Sheridan Bruins, it's not surprising that their match ended in a 1-1 draw. After all, the previous eight meetings were decided by one goal or less.

The goalkeepers needed to remain sharp throughout as both teams had several scoring opportunities, especially in the later stages of regulation. In the end, both clubs were worthy of a hard-fought tie.

It was a pair of newcomers to the rivalry that hit pay dirt in this match. It took 63 minutes before Humber's Tremaine Nelson (Toronto) broke the scoreless deadlock. The Hawks maintained their clean sheet until the 85th minute, when midfielder Khody Ellis (Mississauga, Ont.) buried the equalizer, giving Sheridan an important point in the standings.

Humber and Sheridan remain two of three unbeaten teams in the OCAA west region as the regular season approaches the finish line.

SAINTS CONTINUE TO MARCH

The St. Clair Saints are the other west region team yet to have suffered a defeat. St. Clair is currently tied with Humber with identical records of 4-0-2, trailing first place Sheridan with a record of 5-0-1.

The Saints will get a first-hand look just how they measure up against the Bruins and Hawks, playing back-to-back matches against these teams this weekend.

A win in either of these meetings will earn St. Clair at least a top-two finish in the standings, and an important bye.

UNFORGETTABLE

The Algonquin Thunder and Centennial Colts remain the only undefeated teams in the east region, with a showdown between these teams taking place this Friday.

Algonquin finally gave up a goal this season in a 3-1 victory over Seneca, but has won all five regular season matches this year. Defending OCAA player of the year Abe Kamara (Guinea) scored all three goals for the Thunder against Seneca.

Centennial battled to a hard-fought 2-2 draw with Cambrian. Fourth-year player EJ Powell (Scarborough, Ont.) scored in the closing seconds of the first half to pull the Colts even for good.

Algonquin and Centennial are the first teams to clinch post-season berths in the OCAA east region.

ON THE BUBBLE

The remaining six teams in the east are fighting for four playoff spots, with no clear indication how things are going to shake out.

Durham can clinch a home playoff game with a win in either of its last regular season matches. As for winless St. Lawrence-Kingston, the Vikings have to win their regular season finale over Fleming, and get a lot of assistance from other clubs.

As for the remaining teams, its anybody's guess who will survive the playoff cut. It will make for some exciting action, and scoreboard watching.

In the west, Sheridan, Humber, St. Clair and Niagara are all playoff bound, with seeding yet to be determined. Lambton and Redeemer can easily clinch the final two berths with victories. Fanshawe (a final four team last season) needs to win twice and hope for help.

GOLDEN BOOTS

Centennial third-year player Davinder Johal (Scarborough, Ont.) scored in the 70th minute to complete a 3-2 comeback victory over Fleming.

Redeemer third-year striker Lewis Tuininga (Orillia, Ont.) scored in the 66th minute, securing a 2-2 draw at Lambton.

Second-year midfielder Benjamin Kennedy (Hartington, Ont.) scored in the dying stages of the match to give St. Lawrence-Kingston a 2-2 draw with George Brown.

Former OCAA player of the year Brian Santos (Leamington, Ont.) scored the lone goal in St. Clair's key 1-0 win over Niagara.

RECENT RESULTS

UPCOMING GAMES

Source: OCAA Communications