With 92 games in the book, the finest women soccer players in the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) will now showdown in a final four championship tournament and take their best shot at the provincial championship title.

The winningest team in OCAA women’s soccer history, the Durham Lords enter the championship as the two time defending champions and will look to make it three in a row when they take on the undefeated Humber Hawks. It took a gutsy effort for the Lords to advance to the championship, as they narrowly squeaked by the tough Lambton Lions 1-0. The Lions team also has a connection to the Lords opening round foes the Humber Hawks, as they are one of only two teams to not be defeated by the Etobicoke team, playing them to a 0-0 draw. Durham has not been short on firepower this season as rookie and League Scoring Champion, Katie Watts, set the all-time scoring record with 20 goals this season. Third year striker, Brittany Micucci, has also provided a scoring touch for the Oshawa team, moving into the second position on the all-time scoring chart after adding 11 goals to her career total. Despite all of the offense, the Lords will also be supported by one of the best goalkeepers in the league, Ashley Visser, a 6’ fifth year veteran with a lot of post season experience.

The Lords however have not been playing their best soccer in this latest stretch and will need to regain their earlier form if they are to upend the provinces top ranked team in the Hawks. Humber has a good balance of youth and experience but will need to rely on fourth year forward Connie Tamburello and third year forward Holly Goddard to lead the way in the goals department. Head Coaches Vince Pileggi and Mauro Ongaro will also be looking to the teams top scorer, rookie Keyla Moreno, to continue to provide offence in a game that could turn into a high scoring affair.

In the second semi-final the host Algonquin Thunder will look to improve on their bronze medal finish from one year ago. The Thunder have relied heavily on Ally Pross this season for goals, but Stephanie Young and Nicole Delmonte are more than capable of making this triple threat one to be reckoned with, especially with the home crowd on their side. Head Coach, Garth Gittens, will need to have his team calm under pressure and to do this he will look to fourth year defender Allie Browne to quarterback a team defense that has only allowed five goals against all season, the lowest in the East Region.

On the other side of the ball will be the Seneca Sting of North York. The Sting have been able to score in bunches all year courtesy of Ashley Docking and Calaigh Copland who sit second and fourth overall in league scoring. Docking would have tied the all-time single season scoring record if it were not for the impressive 20 goals performance of Katie Watts. Copland also turned in a stellar season offensively netting 12 goals of her own. Head Coach, Deesh Bhattal, will look to make his first season with the Sting a winning one as they have not won a provincial championship since 1995.

CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE:
All games @ Algonquin College

Thursday, October 23, 2008
OCAA Championship Awards Banquet – Algonquin College – 6:00pm

Friday, October 24, 2008
Semi-Final #1: Humber vs. Durham – 10:00 am
Semi-Final #2: Seneca vs. Algonquin – 12:30 pm

Saturday, October 25, 2008
Bronze Medal Game: Losers of Semi-Finals - 10:00 am
Gold Medal Game: Winners of Semi-Finals – 3:00 pm

The championship is a single elimination tournament including the top four teams advancing from the quarter-finals. All games will be streamed online at www.sportslive.ca.