OCAA Championships
Final Standings:
1. Algonquin
2. Seneca
3. Humber

The Algonquin Thunder (Ottawa) Men’s Soccer Team struck gold in front of a home field crowd at the OCAA championships this past weekend as two days of tournament play concluded in Ottawa, ON on Saturday. The win hands Algonquin back-to-back titles and their sixth overall provincial title in OCAA men’s soccer. Algonquin will now advance to the CCAA Championships hosted by Langara College in BC from November 9-12, 2005.

The Thunder entered the championships second in the east region with a 6-1-0 regular season record. The Thunder opened the championship with a tight 5-4 overtime victory over the previously undefeated Humber Hawks (Etobicoke). After trailing Humber College at one point by a 4-0 score, Algonquin rallied back to tie the game in regulation and on an own goal in overtime defeated Humber 5-4. Algonquin striker Stefano Flamini netted two goals in the win while Adam Vickers and Jason Fredrick both added one. OCAA Men's Player of the Year Kwame Osei had two goals for Humber with Sherwin Emmanuel and Joseph Feijoo adding one each.

In the gold medal final it was another close game with a 2-1 victory for Algonquin that went to penalty kicks over the east region champion, Seneca Sting (North York). The first half of play was very tight between the teams until Jason Frederick of Algonquin was able to break the scoreless tie with a ball that squeaked through the Seneca defense. Algonquin was able to hold the one goal lead until late in the second half. After goalkeeper Roy Blanche and Steven Said were dismissed with red cards for Seneca, the Sting still managed to tie the game on a free kick that found it's way into the net. Being two men down for the overtime session Seneca was forced into a defensive shell and was able to limit Algonquin's scoring opportunities, pushing the game to penalty kicks. Goalkeeper Nikolas Dastanic for Algonquin turned away 2 of 4 Seneca penalty kicks while Alogonquin netted all 4 penalty kicks with Tournament MVP Jason Frederick scoring the winning penalty kick.

Algonquin finishes their OCAA season with a 9-1-0 record (6-1-0 league, 3-0 playoffs & championship). The loss handed the Seneca Sting second place, while Humber defeated Mohawk 5-3 in the Bronze Medal game.

The Thunder's Jason Frederick was named the Tournament MVP. The tournament all-star team included Fabrizio Castiglione of Seneca, Verdran Fustar and Nicola Dastanic of Algonquin and Kwame Osei of Humber.

The men’s soccer major award winners and league all-stars were announced on the weekend at the Championship athletic banquet on October 27. Please click here to review a summary of the award recipients.

Championship Summary of Results:
Semi-Finals - Friday October 28, 2005
1 - Seneca Defeats Mohawk 2-1
Players of the Game: Steven Said, Seneca & Scott MacLeod, Mohawk
2 - Algonquin Defeats Humber 5-4
Players of the Game: Stefano Flamini, Algonquin & Kwame Osei, Humber

Saturday, October 29, 2005
Bronze - Humber Defeats Mohawk 5-3
Players of the Game: Houdou Deni, Humber & Joe Grieci, Mohawk
Gold - Algonquin Defeats Seneca 2-1
Players of the Game: Nikola Dastanic, Algonquin & Fabrizio Castiglione, Seneca

To view full Championship results, game recaps and pictures from the Championship please click here to view the host Championship Website.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Michelle Waddick
OCAA Marketing & Communications
P: (416) 426-7043
W: www.ocaa.com