OAKVILLE. Ont. - The Algonquin Thunder defeated their East Division rivals, the Seneca Sting, 2-1 in the championship game of the 2013 belairdirect OCAA Women's Soccer Championship, to claim their fourth provincial title and advance to the CCAA National Championship tournament at Kwantlen in Surrey, B.C. next month.
"It feels really good, it's a really proud moment for the program, it's our first year as a coaching staff to be able to come in and do this, I don't think the program has been to nationals for 11 years, [so] it's a very proud moment for myself, [Assistant Coach's Robin] Rushton, [Les] Escobar, and [Patrick] Beland. My staff is fantastic," said Thunder head coach Domenic Oliveri.
Algonquin was quick to generate offensive opportunities in the first 10 minutes of action, as Jaymie Baldree found herself situated at the top of the six-yard box and was able to bury a shot past Sting goalie Rachel Dorland to open the scoring.
Seneca looked to answer back but couldn't convert on offensive opportunities. Thunder goaltender Jennifer Kelly managed to stay composed under pressure from Seneca offenders, making brave sprints to smother the ball in Algonquin's defensive territory.
Seneca forward Nicole Forbes challenged Kelly moments before the end of half, nearly sliding into a shot during a defensive scramble near the Thunder goal, but the miss allowed Algonquin to hold a 1-0 advantage at the interval.
Tension ran high in the later portion of the second half as Seneca was productive in getting into Algonquin's defensive zone but could not capitalize on crucial chances.
A free kick early on from Seneca forward Rita Keimakh was headed towards target by Emma Gattoni, the attempt just skipped wide.
Ginny Cass would produce what would end up being the game winner, breaking through Seneca defenders in a two-on-one rush towards the net. A bullet to the back of the net would give them the two-goal differential late in the match.
The Sting had not seen the last of their offensive opportunities though, driving back into Algonquin territory, but failing to generate a goal from the corner in the 84th minute.
It wasn't until the 90th minute of play that Seneca earned a free kick at the top of the box where Victoria Curci delivered a snipe to the top corner allowing Seneca to break the shutout late in the championship match.
Seneca continued to push forward in a limited amount of injury time, but could not find the touch required to threaten the Algonquin goal.
Algonquin defender Breanna Humpphreys was named the tournament MVP, while Thunder goalkeeper Jennifer Kelly, Rita Keimakh (Seneca), Hilda Chmait (Seneca) and Alora Walcott (Humber) rounded out the tournament all-star team.
Algonquin will travel to Surrey, B.C. on Nov. 5 to represent the OCAA in the CCAA National Championship tournament, hosted by Kwantlen Polytechnic University.
Source: Sheridan College