ANCASTER, Ont. - The Seneca Sting are headed to the OCAA Women's Soccer Championship gold medal match after a nail-biting semifinal matchup Friday afternoon against the Humber Hawks.
The second semifinal of the day proved to be the best match of the tournament so far as both teams left everything on the field for a chance to face Fanshawe on Saturday for gold.
A chippy and gritty affair, it was obvious what was on the line Friday. Not only did the winner advance to the OCAA gold medal match, but also qualified for the CCAA national championship.
Like the first OCAA semifinal of the day, the match saw a goal within the first five minutes. Seneca's Sona Makulova found the back of the net early to put the Sting up 1-0. Not to be outdone, Humber replied right back as Emma Stushnoff equalized for the Hawks.
The score remained that way heading into halftime.
The second half was a wildly entertaining one as both teams fought for every inch. Makulova got her second of the match in the 49th minute to once again put the Sting ahead by one. This time, despite their best efforts, the Hawks were unable to reply, despite many chances down the stretch, as the game winded down.
Seven cards were handed out in the match as both teams played on the edge in order to advance to Saturday's final.
Both goalkeepers were outstanding in the semifinal and both were rewarded with player of the game awards. Humber's Vanessa Fiore and Seneca's Raven Edwards-Dowdall took home the honours.
Seneca now moves on to face the Fanshawe Falcons, winner of the first semifinal of the day, 5-1 against the Sheridan Bruins.
Fanshawe opened the scoring in the fourth minute when Jade Kovacevic beat Sheridan's keeper, Savanna Wood, netting her first of four goals in the match.
Kovacevic capitalized for the Falcons every chance she got. The newly crowned 2019 OCAA Player of the Year scored in the 19th, 29th, and 49th.
The Bruins never retreated in the match, continually forcing the Falcons to keep the pressure on. However, Fanshawe always responded to Sheridan's threat, using timely goals to keep the Bruins playing from behind.
Chelsea Zavitz was the other goal scorer for the Falcons while Megan Foster scored for the Bruins.
Catherine Cavero was named the player of the game for Sheridan while Angelika Mihalopulos took home the honours for the Fanshawe Falcons.
Fanshawe now moves on to the championship final and have qualified for the 2019 CCAA national championship. The gold medal match kicks off at 3 p.m. The bronze medal match will feature the Humber Hawks and the Sheridan Bruins. That match gets underway at 12 p.m.
Source: Redeemer Royals
Championship Website: www.ocaa.com/wsoc
Live Webcast: www.ocaa.com/ocaalive
Wednesday, October 23
Quarter-Finals
Game #1: Fanshawe def. Niagara 2-0
Game #2: Sheridan def. Algonquin 1-0
Game #3: Seneca def. Redeemer 4-0
Game #4: Humber def. Durham 3-0
Friday, October 25
Semi-Finals
Game #5: Fanshawe def. Sheridan 5-1
Game #6: Seneca def. Humber 2-1
Saturday, October 26
Bronze Medal Match
Game #7: Sheridan vs. Humber - 12 p.m.
Winning team presented OCAA Bronze Medal at conclusion of match
Gold Medal Match
Game #8: Fanshawe vs. Seneca - 3 p.m.
OCAA Gold and Silver Medals presented at conclusion of match
- OCAA -
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