No. 1 Men's Soccer golden for fourth straight season

VAUGHAN – No. 1 Humber men's soccer captured its fourth consecutive OCAA provincial title Saturday afternoon, cruising to a  clean sheet victory over the No. 4 Seneca Sting, 4-0. Alex Meczarski put the Hawks ahead early, while Abdul-Azeez Babawale recorded a hat-trick, sending the Hawks to the national tournament as the top seed.

Match Recap

As the top two collegiate teams in the province kicked off to battle for the OCAA championship, the Hawks were looking to win their 15th OCAA gold in program history. Humber knew their clash against the Sting would be tough as Seneca was the only other team with a perfect season; however, the jam-packed bleachers at the Ontario Soccer Centre were cheering loudly for the talented Hawks squad and gave them the motivation to jump out to an early lead. 

In the 23rd minute, the OCAA Defensive Player of the Year, Alex Meczarski, opened the scoring and put the Hawks ahead. After Damion Kaye chipped the ball into the box over two Sting defenders, Meczarski swiftly crept behind the defence to bury the go-ahead tally. 

The Hawks' momentum from Meczarski's goal continued as Humber doubled their lead four minutes later with a goal off the head of Abdul-Azeez Babawale. A perfectly placed corner from the captain, Luca Uccello, found Babawale in the box, and the Toronto native made no mistake in finding the top-right corner of the meshing. Babawale's second of the tournament put the Hawks in the driver's seat, sending them into the break with a 2-0 lead. 

The Hawks' dream start to the gold medal game came true as they dominated Seneca in the first half. Humber controlled possession for much of the half and had five shot attempts, with four coming on target. Meanwhile, Seneca's poor first-half performance saw them only taking one shot attempt that missed the net. 

After a chippy start to the half that saw the squads trade fouls and yellow cards, Babawale scored a nearly identical goal to his first-half marker. A Uccello corner found the head of Babawale in the box, and he potted his second of the match to put the Hawks ahead by three in the 65th minute. 

Babawale would score his hat-trick tally in the 77th minute to put the Hawks ahead by a dominating four goals. OCAA first-team all-star Kadell Thomas rushed into the box and crossed the ball over to a speedy Babawale driving the net, where he potted his third goal of the match, securing a provincial championship for the Hawks. 

As the match referee's whistle blew, the Hawks were declared the 2022 OCAA champions and the kings of collegiate soccer in Ontario for the tenth time in 12 years.

Abdul-Azeez Babawale was named player of the match, and Keegan Wilson was awarded championship MVP. Alex Meczarski and Luca Uccello were named to the all-tournament team.

Humber Highlights

• The Hawks won their fourth straight provincial championship and the 15th in program history.
• In nine seasons, Coach Aquino has won his seven OCAA championships, improving to 26-2 (.929) at provincials.
• The Hawks have now medalled in 13 straight OCAA seasons.
• Humber's golden performance against Seneca marked the fourth time that the Hawks have won the OCAA championship on home field.
• The Hawks' all-time record against Seneca now stands at 15-6-2, with a postseason record of 6-2. Humber is a perfect 2-0 against the Sting in the OCAA finals.

What's Next?

The Hawks will travel to the west coast to battle the top collegiate teams from across the country for the CCAA national championship. The four-day tournament will be hosted by Vancouver-based Langara College and takes place from Nov. 9-12.