Coming off a disappointing season that saw George Brown's men's soccer team on the outside looking in come playoff time, head coach John Williams felt as though the program was closer to making a major leap then it seemed.

"For the first time since I arrive at the college, I really felt as though we had a chance to compete everywhere on the field this year. Between vets like Jesse Oliver and Aris Efstathiadis and the recruits on the way, this is easily the most complete team we've had."

Those new recruits have been as advertised and more, transforming the Huskies from one of Ontario's lowest scoring outfits into one of its highest. The trio of Shaquille Agard, a Centennial transfer who proved himself a legitimate scorer over two years with the Colts, and freshmen Jo-Horus Toutou and Zuheib Mohamed have completed George Brown's 180 up front.

Agard made his presence felt in the Huskies season opening 3-1 road win over Niagara, scoring two goals in a sign of things to come. He has netted a pair since then, including one in George Brown's 5-1 romp over UTM on Sunday, and is clearly among the OCAA's most dangerous strikers. The 6-foot-0 Toronto native mixes speed up the right side with a physicality that the program has lacked in years past, consistently keeping opponents off the ball and finding the middle of the field.

Toutou and Mohamed, who missed the first two and three games of the season respectively, have been nothing short of spectacular since being inserted into the line-up. After being held off the score sheet in his first game, Toutou netted both of George Brown's goals in a 2-0 win over Seneca, followed by another two against UTM. Mohamed matched those two on Sunday, giving the pair six goals in five combined games.

While the offence has already doubled its scoring output from 2015, the team has also improved on what was already a strong defensive unit. The addition of Ozzy Keles (who played professionally in Turkey) has bolstered a unit that gave up only 13 goals last year. Efstathiadis, Jordan Sodhi amd Milad Kahani have all played well in net, and George Brown has allowed a mere six goals while pitching two shutouts.

Questions will remain about a team that lacks post-season experience, but there is no doubt that the talent exists for George Brown to be a serious contender come playoff time. That burden will no doubt rest largely on the shoulders of three newcomers, and so far the returns look promising.

Source: George Brown College