ANCASTER, Ont. - The Redeemer Royals men's soccer team continued their impressive play at home on Wednesday night in front of a full house. The Royals came away with a tie against the two-time defending national champion Humber Hawks, 2-2.

Redeemer was down twice in the match but was able to fight back both times as they are now the first team to take a point of the powerhouse Hawks since Sept. 21, 2013, ending their 12-game win streak. Redeemer head coach Kyle Grootenboer knew his guys were ready to play and it showed.

"We could see it in the warm-ups that the guys were ready to play tonight," said Grootenboer. "It started with a tireless effort in the midfield and it was rewarded near the end with one of the nicest goals I've ever seen."

It was a huge point for the Royals and will be seen as one of the biggest upsets for the men's outdoor team in quite sometime. Redeemer now finishes a very difficult stretch of games against Fanshawe, Sheridan, and Humber with a 1-1-1 record. Grootenboer knew the stretch was going to be tough and is happy the guys were rewarded for their strong play.

"We are happy to take a point off of a perennial powerhouse like Humber," commented the coach. "Now we prepare for a very important game against Mohawk on Saturday."

Dan Schuurman scored his first as a Royal in the 54th minute to tie it up at 1-1 while Lewis Tuininga added his first of the season in the 82nd for Redeemer to tie it at 2-2.

Jevon Gayle (38th) and Jesse Assing (62nd) scored for the Hawks.

The Lady Royals also took the field on Wednesday against the Humber Hawks. The Royals put together a balanced effort in their second home match of the season in a 2-0 loss to the visitors. After conceding six and seven goals respectively in their last two matches, tonight's match will prove to be a stepping stone for a number of key matches coming up for the Royals.

Redeemer head coach Caell Huyer saw improvements from his team tonight. "We played our best team defensive game this evening," said Huyer. "A few mistakes led to the goals but we defended tough and created turnovers. We did a lot of good things that should carry over into this weekend's match."

Goal scorers for Humber were Alexandria Kastanis in the 14th minute and Jayde Wiklund-Roach in the 30th. Tania Serafine had the shutout for the Hawks.

Redeemer's Grace Berkel had an impressive 14 saves against the Hawks.

Both teams take to the field again at home on Saturday against Hamilton, Ont., rivals Mohawk College.

Source: Redeemer University College