A dreamlike season for the men’s soccer team ended on Nov. 9 in the best possible way after defeating the Algonquin Wolves by 1-0 in the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) final.
It's the Hawks’ 10th national title and 16th provincial title.
The team started its way towards the Nationals' final in the quarterfinals against the UKC Blue Devils from Halifax for a spot in the semifinal.
Humber was the dominant team throughout the game and with goals from players Luca Pinto, Franz Mella and Jacob Ball, defeated the Blue Devils with a 3-0 score.
In the first semifinal, the Hawks faced Alberta Colleges Athletic Association (ACAC) champion NAIT Ooks from Edmonton.
The Hawks showed its best football and didn’t offer any opportunities for the Ooks after Ball’s brace and Humber player Marcus Riviere goal to give Humber a 3-0 win.
In the final, the Hawks faced the Wolves and repeated the 2024 Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) final when Humber defeated Algonquin.
Just as in the provincial final, the outcome was the same thanks to Franz Mella’s goal, and decisive saves by Humber’s goalkeeper Peter Sherberstov to ensure Humber’s 1-0 win.
After losing the 2023 final at the OCAA against the Conestoga Condors, the Hawks were looking for a different outcome this new season.
Humber’s captain Matthew Laic said despite all the stress, the team managed to achieve its main goal.
“It feels great to have a good outcome,” Laic said. “This team feels more like a family than it does a team.”
Laic, who won the provincial championship MVP award, said he felt so honoured to have been chosen as MVP.
He said without the help of the other players, that award would have been impossible to get.
Sheberstov said to be chosen as man of the match in the Nationals final was surprising and unexpected.
“It’s huge, honestly, especially as a first year,” Sheberstov said. “I’m really happy playing with this team.”
He said having good relations with players and coaches was the key to getting to his highest level to help the team.
Humber’s midfielder Matias Lescano said the team got to achieve all its goals they had.
“We put in a lot of hard work,” Lescano said. “Everybody on the team did a fantastic job.”
He said keeping the unity and brotherhood on the team will be the most important thing to achieve next year’s goals.
Humber got into the National championship after a magnificent provincial tournament.
The season started for the Hawks on Sept. 6 against Niagara Knights in Welland, Ont., where it got its first win of the season by a 2-1 score.
Its first game at home against Sheridan Bruins ended up with a 2-2 tie, the only game without a win for the team during the regular season.
After that game, the team began to string together win after win, including games against the former champions Condors, which they defeated 2-0, getting revenge from the 2023 final.
Another outstanding game faced the Hawks against Lambton Lions in the season’s fifth game which they defeated by a 13-0 rout.
Not only did the team start its win streak after Sheridan’s game, it also didn’t receive goals and scored a total of 37 goals during the regular season.
Already in the postseason, the Hawks continued to show its supremacy and good football over rivals, defeating the Mohawk Mountaineers and the Centennial Colts to get into the final four.
In the semifinals, the team faced its toughest match against Seneca Sting, a match decided in overtime after a very even match.
Humber overcame the Seneca goal that tied the game near the end of the 90 minutes and scored the definitive goal in the first period of overtime to qualify for the final.
The final match had Humber face Algonquin, who defeated Sheridan 3-2 in the semis. Thanks to Ball’s brace Humber defeated the Wolves and raised its provincial title before moving into the Nationals that mirrored the provincials.
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