No. 1 Men's Soccer draws against Mohawk

By: Fernando Bossoes
Humber Athletics Communications

TORONTO – With the sun out on Saturday afternoon, top-ranked Humber men's soccer could not secure a win at the Centennial Park. The defending national champions got a late draw against Mohawk (1-1-1), 1-1, to get their second consecutive draw in three matches. Exosse Kadiebue paced the way for the Hawks, scoring the lone tally at the beginning of the second half. 

Match Recap

Humber men's soccer started the match, controlling the ball possession. Head coach Michael Aquino clearly did not want his team to suffer an early goal, which could screw the Hawks' plans. 

Damion Kaye had an amazing opportunity to come out of the gate and get the Hawks on the board, but the line referee whistled for an offside.

At the ten-minute mark, Christian Keshishian received a great pass from Danny Medeiros inside the 18-yard box, but Keshishian could not get his best shot, and Mohawk's keeper Oliver Steinke made the first save of the game. 

After 15 minutes of both teams trying to control the match, the Hawks' dominance started. The top-ranked program in the CCAA had absolute ball possession, pressuring the Mountaineers right at their defensive area, but Mohawk had a compact defence, and the Hawks struggled to get offensive opportunities. 

Ten minutes before the break, rookie James Lima intercepted a pass at midfield, where Kaye battled against the Mountaineers' defenders and found Danny Medeiros' boot, but the shot went wide and missed the target. 

After a scoreless first half, the Hawks came on hot in the first minutes after the break. Medeiros showed off his passing skills with a long ball to Tomas Joseph. A beautiful backheel pass found Exosse Kadiebue's right foot, and the forward unloaded a diagonal shot to find the back of the net for his first goal in the season. 

After the first tally, Humber had another amazing chance to double its lead. Keegan Wilson hit a long pass into the offensive area, where James Lima overcame Mohawk's defender, but the keeper made a sprawling save to avoid the second goal of the match. 

A sloppy pass right next to the center circle gave Mohawk's forward Hamza Salman the perfect opportunity to tie the match in the 77th minute. He hammered past the keeper from the penalty arc and scored his third goal in three matches in the OCAA. 

When the final whistle blew, the Hawks recorded their second consecutive draw, tying Mohawk 1-1.

Humber Highlights 

• The Hawks extend their unbeaten streak to 32 consecutive matches.
• Humber improves to 29-6-8 all-time against Mohawk.
• Kadibue recorded this fourth career regular season for the Hawks.

What's Next?

Before the 2022 squad receives their CCAA championship ring on Sept. 22, the Hawks (1-0-2) will welcome the Redeemers Royals (1-2-0) on Sept. 20 at the Ontario Soccer Centre. Kickoff is set for 4:30 p.m. and will be streamed live on the Hawks Sports Network.