WINDSOR, Ont. – The final four men's soccer teams in the OCAA opened play at the 2021 championship hosted by St. Clair College at Acumen Stadium on a wet and cool day in Windsor.
The first semi-final of the day saw No. 10 nationally ranked Seneca (6-2-1, 2nd Central) fall to No. 15 George Brown (5-4, 3rd Central) in an exciting matchup by a score of 2-1. As both teams settled in on a rainy Friday afternoon, the Huskies struck first in the 10th minute on an own goal that was credited to Alon Steinbach. George Brown made it 2-0 in the 21st minute on a nice goal by Christopher Badibengi. After the conclusion of the first half, George Brown was up 2-0, with each team recording three shot attempts.
In the second frame, Seneca came out hard trying to narrow the margin but the George Brown defence held strong. In the 78th minute Zac Zitoli narrowed the margin to 2-1 burying one from close range. However, the Huskies defence could not be penetrated and George Brown held on for the upset win. Zitoli was named the Player of the Match for Seneca and Steinbach for George Brown.
As the wind and rain picked up Friday afternoon, two-time reigning OCAA champion and No. 1 nationally ranked Humber (7-0-1, 1st Central) defeated St. Clair (6-3-0, 2nd West) by a score of 5-1. The Saints fell behind early when a long shot by Marcos Nunes got past the St. Clair keeper in the sixth minute. Humber went up 2-0 shortly after that on a tally by Exosse Kadiebue in the 11th minute. St. Clair settled down after that but could not get one by the Humber keeper. The Hawks went up 3-0 in the 35th minute on a nice strike by Leaford Allan. The Saints got on the scoreboard in the 43rd minute when Carlos DaGloria buried one to make it 3-1 in the 43rd minute.
However, as second half began the Hawks jumped on the Saints early to put the game away. Nunes made it 4-1 in the 47th minute followed by Allan in the 49th minute to make it 5-1. The rest of the second half was fairly evenly played but the Saints had too big of a hole that was too deep to climb out of. Humber held an 15-6 advantage in shot attempts for the game. DaGloria was named the Player of the Match for St. Clair while Allan was the Humber Player of the Match.
George Brown and Humber will compete for the OCAA championship at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, while St. Clair and Seneca will play for bronze at 1:00 p.m. Both games will be at Acumen Stadium. Humber and George Brown have both qualified for the CCAA Nationals in Calgary being hosted by SAIT.
All Championship news, webcasts and up-to-date results can be found on the 2021 Men's Soccer Championship website: https://ocaachampionships.com/championships/msoc/2021-22/index.
Source: St. Clair Saints