OTTAWA - They are the most decorated men’s soccer program in Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) history.

Six straight OCAA banners. Ten total provincial championships. Two national titles.

So what has been the secret to Algonquin College’s success? Allen Iverson won’t want to read this, but a lot of it has to do with practice.

“I think the advantage we have over most of the schools is that we train everyday,” explains former Algonquin player turned head coach Jimmy Zito. “We’re constantly on the practice field.”

“The coaching that has come through from Brian Evans to Steve O’Kane to Kwesi (Loney) to myself, we’ve all been under the same school of thought. You show up to the park, you work hard, you train four or five times a week, you prepare for your games whereas I don’t think all of the other colleges put in the same type of work that we do.”

“I think the biggest secret to Algonquin’s success is the hard work and passion that goes into it itself.”

There isn’t a lot more the Thunder can accomplish on the soccer pitch. But in the annals of OCAA history, they are in reach of a pair of significant milestones.

Algonquin joined only three other OCAA programs to reach the elusive six-pack in consecutive league titles, and are one behind the all-time record of seven straight championships won by Seneca College’s women’s volleyball team from 1989-90 to 1995-96. Sheridan I.T.’s men’s volleyball program (1988-89 to 1993-94) and Humber College’s men’s basketball squad (1990-91 to 1995-96) are the only others to win six straight championships.

Algonquin also needs two more men’s soccer titles to tie the all-time conference record of 12 in one league sport. The Humber men’s basketball team and Seneca women’s volleyball team share the record of a dozen, with Sheridan men’s volleyball and Fanshawe College’s women’s basketball winning 11 each.

But a “7-eleven” title for Algonquin is far from a given this season. Zito will be relying on a new group of core players to help carry the torch passed on from previous champions.

“All of our top players have now moved on,” admits Zito. “This will be a very new year for Algonquin College.”

“We have a very young team this year. I know everybody’s thinking we’re going to walk through like we’ve done the last six years and take this province, but this year will definitely be different for sure.”

Algonquin has had a well-balanced scoring attack in recent memory, with 26 different players scoring at least one goal the past three regular seasons.

“We’ve had the standard with guys like Mike Gagliano there for five years, and Loui Legakis and Matt Rigby and those types of players that set such a big shadow for our program,” says Zito. “For us to keep winning and keep where we are at, these young players are just starting to understand what type of situation they are getting themselves into because of what we have done in our past.”

During their six-peat, Algonquin has compiled a regular season record of 48-4-2. One of those losses came last season at Cambrian College, which is ironically, Algonquin’s opening opponent this Saturday at 1:15 p.m. Cambrian won 1-0 at home last September, but Algonquin did respond with a 2-0 win in a second meeting back in Ottawa.

The OCAA men’s soccer championship will take place at the Ontario Soccer Centre in Vaughn, Ont. on Friday, Oct. 29 and Saturday, Oct. 30. The national championship will take place at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in Edmonton Nov. 10 to 13.

- OCAA -

ABOUT ONTARIO COLLEGES ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

The Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) is a recognized leader in intercollegiate athletics in the province, dedicated to student athlete and sport development. The OCAA has 30 members sponsoring 16 league and tournament championships.

For additional information please contact:

Josh Bell-Webster
Marketing and Communications
Ontario Colleges Athletic Association
Tel: 416-426-7041
Fax: 416-426-7308
E-mail: bell-webster@ocaa.com