TORONTO - Eight men's soccer teams are one victory away from earning an invite to the 2013 belairdirect Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Men's Soccer Championship.

Winners of last weekend's qualifying rounds will visit the first or second place teams in the opposite division for the opportunity to advance. All three OCAA medalists from 2012 are still in the hunt for a championship this season.

The 2013 belairdirect OCAA Men's Soccer Championship takes place at Algonquin College in Ottawa from Oct. 25-26.

Seneca (6-2-1, 3rd East) at Fanshawe (6-1-1, 2nd West)
Saturday, Oct. 19 - 2 p.m.

Seneca hung on to edge St. Lawrence-Kingston 3-2 in the OCAA qualifier, and now travels to Fanshawe with a berth in the semi-finals at stake.

The Falcons enjoyed a bye last weekend, earning a tie-breaker in what was a log-jam on top of the OCAA West standings. Fanshawe is led offensively by Kingsley Ezennaya (Lagos, Nigeria) and Milos Janikic (Toronto). Each scored four goals during the regular season.

Fanshawe will need to be aware of Seneca's third-year forward Mauricio Chamale (Stouffville), who has now scored eight goals in nine matches, including the post-season. Seneca earned silver at last year's provincials.

The victor takes on the winner of the Niagara-Algonquin quarter-final.

Niagara (4-3-2, 5th West) at Algonquin (6-0-2, 1st East)
Saturday, Oct. 19 - 3 p.m.

The upstart Niagara Knights pulled off a thrilling 2-1 overtime victory over St. Clair on the road in the qualifying round. Second-year player Austin MacDonell (Ajax) scored in the dying minutes of overtime to seal the upset.

Algonquin ruled men's soccer in the previous decade, with seven provincial titles and two national crowns. The Thunder have not advanced to the OCAA championship in the past three seasons, but have home-turf advantage its next three matches.

The undefeated Thunder are led by second-year forward Abraham Kamara (Ottawa) who scored eight goals in six matches.

The victor takes on the winner of the Seneca-Fanshawe quarter-final.

Fleming (5-3-1, 5th East) at Humber (6-1-1, 1st West)
Saturday, Oct. 19 - 3:30 p.m.

The Fleming Knights pulled off a big 3-1 road victory at Durham in the qualifying round, and now sets their sights on three-time defending OCAA and reigning national champion Humber.

Third-year defender Oshane Hylton (Ajax) was Fleming's co-leader in goals during the regular season, and added to his tally with one in the playoff victory.

Humber enjoyed a bye by virtue of its regular season regional title. The Hawks have co-leaders in goals with veteran wings Daniel Braga (Toronto) and Shezan Singh (Ajax) scoring three times each.

These teams met in the quarter-finals last year, with Humber prevailing 4-0.

The victor takes on the winner of the Sheridan-Centennial quarter-final.

Sheridan (7-1-1, 3rd West) at Centennial (5-1-2, 2nd East)
Sunday, Oct. 20 - 1 p.m.

Sheridan drew the short straw in the tiebreaker, and were forced to play an extra match. The Bruins edged Redeemer 2-1, and will now need a road win to clinch a berth to the OCAA championship.

Chris Di Vizio Mendes (Mississauga) and Johnathan Rufino (Brampton) each scored goals for the Bruins. Sheridan earned bronze at last year's provincials.

Second-year player Louay Saab (Scarborough) led the Centennial Colts with three goals in six matches. While the Colts had the second-best record in the OCAA East, they are winless in three of their last four matches.

The victor takes on the winner of the Fleming-Humber quarter-final.

- 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 29 members sponsoring 11 sports.

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