KEEPER ADAM MORANDINI INDUCTED INTO THE CCAA HALL OF FAME
CCAA Hall of Fame Inductee: Adam Morandini
On June 7, the CCAA will induct 10 new members into its Hall of Fame.
The 2016 CCAA Hall of Fame Banquet will be hosted by the
Ontario Colleges Athletic Association in downtown Toronto.
May 31, 2016 – Adam Morandini, who backstopped the Humber Hawks to a National Championship in Men's Soccer, will be inducted in the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association Hall of Fame. He will be honoured in the Athlete category.
Morandini was the Hawks goalkeeper for three seasons and appeared in back-to-back CCAA Nationals for Humber. He was named the top keeper at the 1994 CCAA Men's Soccer National Championship, where he won a silver medal.
The following year, Morandini and the Hawks were crowned CCAA Champions with a 2-0 victory in the gold-medal game over Mount Royal College. He was named a CCAA-All Canadian, a tournament All-Star and the Top Keeper at the 1995 National Championship, which was hosted by Medicine Hat College. Morandini would also go on to earn CCAA All-Canadian honours in his final season, 1996.
"Adam was a significant impact player on the Humber Hawks Men's Soccer team that attended back-to-back CCAA National Championships," said Ray Chateau, Director of Athletics at Humber. "He continues to be a driving force in the game, as he has been involved with club soccer on an ongoing basis."
After graduation, Humber recognized Morandini's contribution to the school and its soccer program by retiring his number and placing him in the Humber Varsity Hall of Fame.
Morandini feels fortunate to have had two great experiences at CCAA Nationals. The 1995 tournament in Medicine Hat, AB, is the most memorable – not only because of the final result.
Upon their arrival at Nationals, a Humber student-athlete decided to thank the entire team for giving him the opportunity to play the sport he loved in another province. It was a touching moment that brought the team even closer together.
"He mentioned that coming from a small community out in the country where he lived, this would probably be his one and only chance to travel within Canada in a team setting and play in a soccer tournament at this level," said Morandini. "At that moment, everyone agreed that we all felt this way and to this day, these memories are still shared with old teammates, family and our children as well."
A winter storm on the eve of the 1995 CCAA National Championship made the event that much more unforgettable.
"We arrived in Medicine Hat in early November, similar to Southern Ontario at that time of year the weather was cold but no snow," said Morandini. "I remember waking up in our hotel on Game Day, opening the blinds and seeing two feet of snow overnight."
He remembers being in awe, trying to figure out how the tournament could go on with the unexpected dumping of snow.
"All I remember is showing up to the field seeing a perfectly swept soccer field with not even a spec of snow, and three-foot high snowbanks surrounding the field," said Morandini.
The local military pitched in to help and artificial turf sweepers were used to sweep the field clean. Military style tents with heaters were set up near the team benches to offer shelter from the cold.
"To this day, I haven't experienced anything like this," said Morandini. "To finish off this great experience we ended up winning gold, which made this extra special."
