The Humber’s women indoor soccer team qualified for the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) semifinals after finishing second in their group. They play today in their quest for a gold medal in Vaughan, Ont.
The Hawks faced defending champions the Seneca Sting, the Sheridan Bruins and the St. Clair Saints in pool A of the OCAA round robins.
The kickoff game faced Humber against the Saints, who finished first in their regional group last week, scoring 14 goals and allowing none.
The game was very intense with many goal opportunities for both teams. Humber had the first scoring chance in the first minute but couldn’t capitalize. This would be a constant for the team throughout the entire match.
In the third minute, a good collective play by the Saints ended up with the ball at the back of the net defended by Humber’s goalkeeper Angela Volpe, giving St. Clair the initial lead.
Although the score did not change, the teams played a back-to-back game with both goalkeepers being the best players on the pitch.
The second half saw a repeat of the first half, the difference being that St. Clair was more effective and capitalized many of their chances. The Hawks failed to score in most of their attempts, mostly due to the great performance of St. Clair’s goalkeeper Lilly Estephan.
The Saints scored two goals with 10 minutes left, while Humber narrowed the score thanks to forward Chantel Spalla. St. Clair reacted quickly, scoring their fourth goal and leaving Humber without any chance of turning around the score.
The Hawks sought to turn the page around against defending champions Seneca Sting in what was a very disputed match with few clear scoring chances for both teams.
Humber's attempts at ball possession were met with Seneca’s counter attacks, which were a constant threat to the Hawks’ defensive line even without creating clear scoring chances or testing goalkeeper Volpe.
Humber’s defence was also more solid and coordinated with Emily Robitaille and Hayley Lewis cutting off Seneca’s attacks.
The second half was a rinse and repeat, but in the final minutes of the match Seneca’s defence started to get more vulnerable, which allowed Humber to have clear scoring chances which almost capitalized at the last minute of the game.
In the last play of the game, the ball hit the right post of Seneca’s goalkeeper Christina Diaco bouncing out from the net, leaving a 0-0 draw as the final result.
Humber’s last hope to move on was winning their final match coupled with a Saints’ win. The Saints needed to defeat Seneca and Humber had to beat Sheridan.
St. Clair’s 1-0 victory over the Sting meant Humber depended on itself to qualify for the semifinals.
The game against the Bruins was tough and physical, with few chances of a goal for either team. While Sheridan was wasting time and defending near their goalkeeper, the Hawks dominated ball possession. But they were unable to break Sheridan’s defence, resulting in a goalless draw at halftime.
In the second half, Humber was more aggressive and dangerous with every new attack bringing them nearer to scoring than in the previous half while Sheridan's defence tightened around its goal area and repelled the Hawks.
The relief came with five minutes remaining in the game, thanks to Spalla who received a pass in the centre of the goal area and shot towards Sheridan's goalkeeper Kennedy Peddie who could do nothing to avoid Humber’s goal.
Sheridan tried to react quickly to Spalla’s goal, but an amazing save by Volpe kept Humber’s spot in the semifinals intact which was confirmed just before the final whistle thanks to Humber’s forward Cassy Ettore’s goal who kicked at Sheridan’s empty net when Peddie was on Humber’s side of the pitch, which sealed the team's qualification to the semifinals.
Spalla said after the game that emotions among the players were strong during the three games.
“For all three games, to be honest, emotions were quite high,” she said. “We came flying and we came to the point where we had no choice but to win (against Sheridan).
“I just wanted to hug all my teammates,” she said about opening the score against the Bruins. “I felt like scoring that one goal totally turned the game towards us.”
She pinpointed what will be the key for Friday's games in the semifinals.
“Same intentions as today, but no more falling asleep,” Spalla said. “Do what we did today and make it happen tomorrow, and then hopefully get the gold medal.”
Women’s indoor soccer coach José Caro said the players kept their confidence up, which was key to overcoming the initial defeat.
“The players were more secure and confident,” he said. “We had more flexibility to open up spaces, and that’s how we scored the goals (against Sheridan). We had patience and things worked out in the second half.”
He said the players needed to relax, rest and be with their families to be at their best for the semis and win the gold.
The Hawks finished second in their group and now face the Conestoga Condors, the winner of pool B.
The semis kickoff at 10 a.m. Friday at the Ontario Soccer Centre. The gold medal match at 1:30 pm., while the bronze medal game will take place at noon.
Humber women’s indoor soccer team is looking for its 12th indoor soccer gold medal, the last one achieved in 2023.
