TORONTO - Seneca College plays host to the 2018 Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Women's Soccer Championship presented by belairdirect, beginning Thursday.
All three of last year's OCAA medalists return to the big stage, including the three-time defending provincial gold medalist Algonquin Thunder, the two-time runners-up Humber Hawks, and bronze winner Fanshawe Falcons.
Four OCAA quarter-final matches take place on Thursday, leading to Friday's semi-finals. The semi-final winners advance to Saturday's gold medal match, while the losing teams play for bronze. Losing teams in the quarter-finals compete in a consolation round.
The other five teams advancing to provincials include the host Seneca Sting, Cambrian Golden Shield, Durham Lords, Niagara Knights and St. Clair Saints.
The OCAA champion advances to the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association Women's Soccer National Championship in Coquitlam, B.C., from Nov. 7-10.
Algonquin (6-1-5, 3rd East) vs. Fanshawe (10-0-0, 1st West)
Thursday, Oct. 25 - 10 a.m.
The defending OCAA gold medalists are attempting to do what no other women's soccer program has done before - win four consecutive titles.
The reigning national bronze medalists have had a down year by their standards, losing to Seneca on Oct. 13 to end a streak of 56 consecutive matches without a regular or post-season loss. Algonquin returned to its winning ways a week later, edging Mohawk on the road 1-0 to earn a trip to provincials.
Third-year defender Hailey Martin (Ottawa) led Algonquin with four goals during the regular season. Contrast this with Fanshawe's Jade Kovacevic (Acton), who set a new OCAA regular season record with 30 goals this season.
Paired with teammate Nicole Nielsen (London) who scored 11 goals, the Falcons are the only team which had two players with double-digit goals during the regular season. Fanshawe is also one of two teams with a perfect regular season record heading into the championship, giving up just five goals against in 10 games.
Niagara (7-3-0, 2nd West) vs. Durham (9-2-1, 2nd East)
Thursday, Oct. 25 - 1 p.m.
East meets West for a second straight match as Niagara and Durham battle for a spot in the semi-finals.
First-year striker Katelyn Mix (Gilford) scored a pair of goals to lift Niagara to a 3-0 win over George Brown last Saturday in the qualifying round. Mix was second in team scoring with six behind Michelle Maecker (Fonthill) who scored seven goals.
Niagara has never medaled in OCAA women's soccer.
Durham earned a bye to the championship as first-place Seneca already received an automatic berth as host. Durham added an exclamation point to a fine campaign by defeating Seneca 1-0 in the regular season finale for both teams.
Second-year striker Cory Lapointe (Whitby) led Durham with nine goals during the regular season.
Cambrian (4-4-2, 3rd Central) vs. Seneca (10-1-1, 1st East)
Thursday, Oct. 25 - 4 p.m.
Host Seneca looks to defend the home turf in a rematch of last year's quarter-finals. The Sting defeated Cambrian 2-1. Ironically it was Cambrian who hosted last year's provincials.
If revenge is a dish best served one year later, Cambrian will look to a newcomer Julia Jajkowska (Sudbury) for offence. She led the Golden Shield with five goals, and scored the only goal in a sudden death crossover against Fleming on Saturday.
Seneca also has a key newcomer in first-year player Sona Makulova (Czech Republic), who led the East Division with a dozen goals.
It is a clash of David versus Goliath. Cambrian was outscored by opponents 20-9 during the regular season, while Seneca outscored its opposition 49-3.
St. Clair (3-5-2, 4th West) vs. Humber (10-0-0, 1st Central)
Thursday, Oct. 25 - 7 p.m.
In another rematch of last year's quarter-finals, the upstart St. Clair Saints draw the top-ranked Humber Hawks.
Humber was not only perfect during the regular season, it did not allow a single goal. While defence is a team effort, third-year goalkeeper Vanessa Fiore (Brampton) was the last line of defence for the majority of the games.
Third-year players Zoe Longsworth (Toronto) and Giulia Zanardi (Tottenham) were the Humber co-leaders in goals with eight each.
St. Clair is the only sub-.500 team at the championship, advancing on the strength of a 2-1 upset win at Sheridan in the crossover on Saturday. Veteran players Ryan Morneau (Windsor) and Cassie Nichols (Windsor) both scored for St. Clair in the victory.
It is a clash of David versus Goliath, Part II. While St. Clair lost more matches than it won, Humber outscored its opposition 52-0, the largest goal differential in the league.
Humber won last year's meeting 1-0 en route to a silver medal. St. Clair went on to win the consolation final.
Championship Website: ocaachampionships.com/championships/wsoc/2018-19/index
Live Webcast: portal.stretchinternet.com/seneca/
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Thursday, October 25
Quarter-Finals
Game #1: Algonquin vs. Fanshawe - 10 a.m.
Game #2: Niagara vs. Durham - 1 p.m.
Game #3: Cambrian vs. Seneca - 4 p.m.
Game #4: St. Clair vs. Humber - 7 p.m.
Friday, October 26
Consolation Round
Game #5: Loser Game #1 vs. Loser Game #2 - 10 a.m.
Game #6: Loser Game #3 vs. Loser Game #4 - 1 p.m.
Semi-Finals
Game #7: Winner Game #1 vs. Winner Game #2 - 4 p.m.
Game #8: Winner Game #3 vs. Winner Game #4 - 7 p.m.
Saturday, October 27
Consolation Final
Game #9: Winner Game #5 vs. Winner Game #6 - 9 a.m.
Bronze Medal Match
Game #10: Loser Game #7 vs. Loser Game #8 - 12 p.m.
Winning team presented OCAA Bronze Medal at conclusion of match
Gold Medal Match
Game #11: Winner Game #7 vs. Winner Game #8 - 3 p.m.
OCAA Gold and Silver Medals presented at conclusion of match
- OCAA -
ABOUT ONTARIO COLLEGES ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
The Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) is the recognized leader in intercollegiate athletics in the province, dedicated to student-athlete and sport development. The OCAA has 27 members sponsoring 12 varsity sports.
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Josh Bell-Webster
Marketing and Communications
Ontario Colleges Athletic Association
Tel: 416-426-7041
Fax: 416-426-7308
E-mail: bell-webster@ocaa.com