HAWKS ENTER THE 2015 NATIONAL EVENT AS THE NUMBER 1 SEED
MONTREAL, QC: The Humber Hawks, fresh off winning the 2015 OCAA Men's Soccer championship, will enter the 2015 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association championships as the number one seed. The National Championship will take place on November 10-14 at Seaway Park in Saint-Lambert, hosted by Champlain College Saint-Lambert.
Teams are scheduled to arrive on Tuesday, November 10, with the event formally kicking off later that evening with the CCAA All Canadian Banquet. Off note, Hawks star Janeil Hoilett will be recognized on this evening, as he will receive his 2015 All Canadian award.
The Hawks will start their quest for their third CCAA title in four years on Wednesday afternoon, in a match with the eighth seed and host Champlain College Saint-Lambert. Kick off for this match is 12:30 pm.
Humber has been ranked second in the nation since the second week of the season, and were assigned the number one seed in the event based on strength of conference and recent team results. The strength of the OCAA is further exemplified with the Ontario silver medalists from Algonquin being seeded fourth. OCAA teams have won the last three CCAA National Championship crowns.
Champlain St. Lambert have been recognized in the CCAA national rankings since September 29th, and have risen up to the tenth spot. At season's end, the Cavaliers held the top spot in the RSEQ regular season standings with a record of six wins, one loss and one tie. They outdistanced the second place F.X. Garneau squad by two points. In the play-offs, Champlain was knocked off by eventual champion Ahuntsic in the Semi Finals, and then dropped the Bronze game by a score of 4-1 to Dawson.
Humber rolled through the regular season in winning the strong Central Division title, which included two wins over the defending CCAA national champs from Sheridan College. The Hawks got stronger through the Final Eight play-offs, eventually avenging their 2104 title game loss to the Algonquin Thunder by a score of 3-0.
Offensively, both teams led their conference in goals scored. The Cavaliers scored at a pace of 2.63 goals per game, while the Hawks pumped in goals at a rate of 4.2 gpg. On the defensive side of the ball, Champlain were not as tight as the Humber squad, giving up twice as many goals per game, on average.
The game will be decided on the field by the players, and Champlain are deep offensively with eight players sharing in the scoring, led by William Hodges and his eight markers. The Hawks are eerily similar to the St. Lambert squad, with many players sharing the scoring exploits. Humber has had thirteen players score in their ten games, with late edition Luca Baldassare potting seven goals in just four matches.
Keepers are always key for a team on a title run, and the Hawks are blessed with three solid stoppers. Former CCAA Championship MVP Eugenio Garro has seemingly put his stamp on the starter's role, winning the semi and final at the OCAA championships, surrendering no goals.
There are many factors that need to be addressed when trying to pick a favourite in the first match for the Hawks. The Hawks are deep and experienced and have played against a number of very strong and talented teams. As the number one seed, they will be looked as the team to beat.
Champlain are probably more deserving of a higher seed, based on their season long play. And, they will be the home team, and that has always provided a challenge to the higher seed.
Humber has consistently run out to an early lead in games all season, and then defended and tacked on to put games out of reach. Should this recipe still be in play at the nationals, then the Hawks will be in good shape as the event moves along.
Official Tournament website:
http://www.ccaa.ca/national-championship-s15061
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