The Humber Hawks showed their dominance of their indoor soccer rivals during the opening round of the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Championship series in Vaughan, Ont., on March 6.
The defending champions play for the gold March 7 after they defeated all three teams in the pool B championship group with the St. Clair Saints, the Seneca Sting and the Fanshawe Falcons.
The Hawks’ first rival of the day was the Saints, who presented a very physical but entertaining match.
The action in the first 15 minutes of the game was back-to-back, with the Sting's goalkeeper Max Rahie exemplifying his abilities as his teammates hit the Hawks' crossbar twice.
But Humber was awarded a penalty with three minutes left in the first half and forward Christian Keshishian took the penalty, which he did not waste, giving Humber the 1-0 lead at halftime.
The Saints reacted quickly and tied the game one minute into the second half, and while they almost scored the second goal of the game, Humber’s defender Luca Pinto was the one who did score after a half-court shot with keeper Rahie away from his box.
St. Clair did not give up and kept trying to get the tie on the score, which they did with four minutes left in the game.
The setback roused Humber and after a great collective play and a pass towards the centre of the Saints’ box, midfielder Santiago Muniz found Christian Keshishian at the right place at the right time to give Humber the win at the last minute of the game.
The Hawks’ second game of the day was against the Sting, and the team seemed to be slightly off in the first half, and Seneca took advantage of this by scoring a goal at the 16th minute, giving them the advantage at halftime.
However, Humber corrected quickly and tied the game five minutes before the second half, which gave the team control of the game and eventually the second and third goal, all scored by defender Pinto to qualify the Hawks for the semifinals.
With the team already in Friday's final round for the gold, it remained to be determined who would qualify first or second in the group against the Fanshawe Falcons. A draw would give Humber the lead of pool B.
The team's starting lineup was a mix of starters and substitutes in the final match against Fanshawe.
Humber struck quickly but as the game progressed, the defence became very imprecise, leading to many turnovers on their side of the field, one of which allowed the Falcons to tie the game before the end of the first half.
During the second half, Humber improved defensively and generated more dangerous opportunities in front of the opponent's goal defended by goalkeeper Tamer Osman.
One of these attacks found Christian Keshishian free to score the second, which became the definitive goal of the game, and it gave the Hawks a sweep in the first leg in the march towards the gold medal game..
“We’re feeling good and confident,” Pinto said. “(Tomorrow) it’s going to be a big day.”
Pinto said the key for the semifinals and finals will be to play as a team, as it’s been the case throughout the year.
Keshishian said in an interview after the games that the team’s mental preparedness is key to performing at the highest level.
“Even when we face adversity, we were able to come back,” Keshishian said. “This is how we do it, the Humber way.”
He also said getting the gold medal Friday will be more special for him and the group.
“This is the last time we’re gonna be together as a group for the year,” he said. “(The team's) gotta leave everything on the pitch tomorrow.”
Humber’s semifinal game will be against the Conestoga Condors at 11 a.m. The bronze medal game will be at 1 p.m. while the gold medal game is at 2:30 pm. The defending champions are looking for their 17th indoor soccer provincial title and second gold medal in a row.
