No. 1 Men's Soccer rolls Lambton

By: Isabelle Ferrante
Humber Athletics Communications

VAUGHAN – No.1 Humber men's soccer team (7-0-0, 1st West) continued its dominant 2022 season in a lopsided victory, steamrolling the Lambton Lions (1-4, 7th West) Sunday afternoon, 7-0. The Hawks showed why they are the top-ranked collegiate team in the nation, applying pressure and controlling most of the match, getting 36 shot attempts with 19 on the net. The offence was not a problem for Humber in the match, with Santino De Bartolo leading the way with two goals and Luca Uccello with three helpers.

Match Highlights 

Humber started its offensive outpour in the tenth minute of the match, breaking the scoreless tie early on with Kadell Thomas finding the back of the net. From the right side of the pitch, Luca Uccello would find Thomas in front of the net and, through the crowd of Lambton players, was able to put the ball on his off leg. Thomas would then find his strong side and place it in the right corner by Lions goalkeeper Ky Duong for his fourth goal of the season.

Luca Uccello would get another apple on the afternoon in the 29th minute after a perfectly placed corner kick found the foot of second-year Santino De Bartolo for his first goal of the season.

Still in the first half, De Bartolo would find the back of the net again. The Hawks' constant pressure on Lambton paid off by capitalizing on a Lions giveaway. In a routine goalie kick, the Lions defender missed the pass in the box and landed on the foot of De Bortolo, who found himself one-on-one with the goalie. He made no mistake, potting his second tally of the match, pushing the Hawks' lead to three at the break.

The halftime break didn't seem to halt Humber's offensive surge, with Wahiz Rahimi potting one in the 48th minute. Using his quick feet dancing around the Lambton defenders, he brought the ball to the top of the box, played give-and-go with Uccello and tapped in an easy tally in front of the net.

In the 54th minute, from its own end, Humber took advantage of great passing plays, starting with Danny Medeiros. Medeiros found a streaking Uccello in the middle of the pitch and with a Lambton defender on his back, Uccello was able to shake the defender and was all alone with the keeper. The star midfielder raced by the keeper and found the back of the net for his first goal of the match and his team-leading sixth goal of the season.

Great ball movement by the Hawks proved to work again in the 74th minute with a goal by captain Federico Leal. Noah Macintyre on the left side of the box found Leal with a beautiful cross-seam pass in front, beating Duong.

With one assist in the match, Macintyre was able to find himself some open space after a defensive breakdown by the Lions, potting one into the left side of the cage with less than ten minutes remaining.

Keeper Ezequiel Carrasco recorded his third win of the season and now has three clean sheets on the year.

Humber Highlights

• Humber extends its win streak to 14 straight matches.
• The Hawks improve to 19-0-1 all-time against the Lions.
• Luca Uccello now leads the league in assists and sits second in the conference with 19 points.
• Ezequiel Carrasco is the only keeper in the OCAA yet to surrender a goal.
• Humber's 34 tallies are the most in the league.

What's Next

No. 1 Humber will take on the No. 10 Conestoga Condors (5-0-1, 2nd West) on Oct. 5 at the Ontario Soccer Centre in Vaughan. Kickoff is slated for 4:30 p.m. and will be streamed live on the Hawks Sports Network.