ANCASTER, Ont. - The Humber Hawks are the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) men's soccer champions for the third straight season.
Humber defeated Seneca 2-0 in the rainy and windy gold medal match. The 2012 Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Men's Soccer Championship was hosted by Redeemer University College in Ancaster, Ont.
Both teams came out very aggressively and despite a card-filled first half, the score remained 0-0 heading into halftime. Both defences played solid with only two shots on goal registered the entire first 45 minutes.
The second half opened the same way the the first half finished.
Both teams moved the ball around well but neither team could break
through. After a collision forced Seneca goalkeeper Peter
Durst (Newmarket) out of the match, back-up goalie
Andrew Cairns (Markham) made numerous big saves to
keep the score level.
Finally a team broke through as Humber scored in the 59th minute
on a goal from Matthew Rios (Toronto). Seneca
pushed for the equalizer but a goal in the final 10 minutes sealed
the outcome for the Hawks as they went up 2-0 on a goal by
Aleks Janjic (Serbia).
Rios was named tournament MVP, and Humber teammate Eugenio
Garro (Woodbridge) was named the top goalkeeper. Humber
did not allow a goal the entire post-season, including a 1-0
semifinal victory over Sheridan on Friday.
For Seneca, it is their best OCAA finish since winning silver in
2009. The silver lining for the Sting is that they will join Humber
at the 2012 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA)
Men’s Soccer National Championship as a wild card entry. The
nationals take place November 7-10 at Douglas College in New
Westminster, B.C.
Sheridan claimed bronze in the first match of the day after
beating St. Clair 4-2. Goals were hard to come by in the first half
before the flood gates opened in the second. Sheridan scored the
only goal of the first half in the 19th minute when Manny
Morgado (Mississauga) put the Bruins up 1-0. It remained
that way until the first minute of the second half when
David Carlesimo (Windsor) scored the equalizer for
the Saints.
St. Clair took the lead in the 70th minute on a strike from
Jordan Lidia (Leamington) as it looked liked the
Saints were on track for an OCAA medal. But with 20 minutes still
left on the clock, Sheridan pushed through and two quick goals in
the 79th and 81st minute, respectively, gave the Bruins the lead
for good. David Velastegui (Oakville) and
Marlon Sequeira (Brampton) scored the goals.
Sheridan all but finished the match in the 83rd when a goal by
Chris Di Vizio Mendes (Mississauga) put the Bruins
up by two with just seven minutes to play. Sheridan claimed its
third straight OCAA medal after receiving silver the previous two
championships.
Velastegui, Humber's Yousif Yousif (Toronto) and
Seneca's David Alva (Brampton) were named
championship all-stars.
For St. Clair, it was a disappointing finish to an otherwise
successful campaign that resulted in a regular season regional
championship. The Saints advanced to the semifinals only to leave
empty handed for the second straight season. St. Clair lost 4-2 to
Seneca in the other semifinal.
Webcast archives of the tournament can be viewed on Sportslive.ca.
Championship Website: www.ocaa.com/championships/2012-13/msoccer
Championship Results
Friday, October 26
OCAA Semifinals
Seneca 4, St. Clair 2
Humber 1, Sheridan 0
Saturday, October 27
Bronze Medal Match
Sheridan 4, St. Clair 2
Gold Medal Match
Humber 2, Seneca 0
With files from Redeemer University College
- OCAA -
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