No. 1 Men's Soccer earns spot in OCAA Final Four

By: Fernando Bossoes
Humber Athletics Communications

VAUGHAN – On an unusually warm fall day at the Ontario Soccer Centre, the weather was the only unpredictable element as No. 1 Humber men's soccer (11-0-1) stuck to the script and cruised past the Centennial Colts (5-3-4) on Saturday afternoon. Onto the final four as the top-seeded team, the Hawks are now set to host the 2024 OCAA Men's Soccer Championship. Humber's teamplay was the highlight of the match, with five different players scoring goals. 

Match Recap 

The weather was great, but the pressure was palpable as Hawks fans made their way to the Ontario Soccer Centre for the quarter-final clash between the Humber Hawks and the Centennial Colts. On paper, Humber was the top dog in this one, but the team knew they could not rely on statistics. They needed to establish dominance early on to secure their spot in the final four. 

Right after kickoff, the Colts put pressure on the Hawks in their defensive zone, aiming to neutralize Humber's defence-to-attack transitions, which were deadly during the regular season. A mistake from Humber's defence gave Centennial an opportunity to open the score, but rookie Peter Sheberstov made a vital save just 30 seconds into the match. 

Despite the early mistake, the Hawks got to the scoreboard first. Captain Matthew Laic cross into the penalty box and found OCAA All-Rookie Marcus Riviere. The Mississauga native calmly controlled the ball with his chest and beat the keeper to open the scoring. 

At the nine-minute mark, Laic delivered another beautiful pass that broke through the defensive line, allowing Jacob Ball to advance inside the 18-yard box where he was fouled, resulting in a penalty kick. Christian Keshishian, 2024 OCAA Player of the Year, stepped up and drove the ball to the bottom-left corner of the net. 

The match heated up at 20 minutes after the referee called a penalty for Centennial. Sheberstov dived to his right and saved the shot, but Centennial's Shamir Akbar scored off the rebound. With a 2-1 score, the match started to get physical. 

17 minutes later, second-year player Franz Mella took the ball for a free-kick near the penalty box. Despite the four-player wall, Mella's powerful shot curved into the top-right shelf, leaving the sprawling goalkeeper with no chance to save it. This was Mella's fourth goal in two play playoff matches this season. 

The referee called the halftime with Humber leading 3-1. 

After the break, the Hawks found another early tally, setting the tone for the rest of the match. At 51 minutes, Luca Pinto, the OCAA Defensive Player of the Year, crossed a free kick into the box. Carmine Fiore flew through the air and smashed an unstoppable header, scoring his first goal as a Hawk. 

The Centennial hopes would decline even further in the next play as defender Luca Ferrari received his second yellow card, being sent off early. From there, Humber completely dominated the 38 minutes left on the clock. 

The Hawks had an opportunity to increase their lead to five after a one-two play between Pinto and Ball resulted in a penalty kick. Tomas Joseph took the kick, but Centennial's Joshua Naraine dived to his left and stopped Humber from scoring their fifth tally. 

Right before the final whistle, Tenzin Wosal made a skillful chip over the Colts' backline to set up Ball, who beautifully put into the back, securing a 5-1 win. With this victory, Humber men's soccer is now set to host the 2024 OCAA Men's Soccer Championship. 

Humber Highlights

• Humber improves to 3-1-2 all-time against Centennial.
• This was Humber's first victory at home against the Colts.
• The Hawks have never lost against the Colts in the postseason.
• Coach Michael Aquino improves to a 31-3 record in the OCAA postseason.
• In his 11th season at the helm, Aquino has led the Hawks to the OCAA final four every year.

What's Next?

No. 1 Humber will advance to the OCAA Men's Soccer Championship final four, opening the tournament against the Seneca Sting (7-2-3) in a semifinal showdown on Friday, Oct. 25 at noon. All OCAA Championship matches will be streamed OCAA Live.