Season Preview: 2019 Humber Women’s Soccer

Head coach Mauro Ongaro and the Humber Hawks will be in pursuit of their eighth provincial title - first since 2012.

ETOBICOKE – The Humber women's soccer program returns for its 24th year, kicking off the 2019 season on the road at Niagara on September 6.

2018 Highlights

• The Hawks claimed their third straight OCAA silver medal, falling 3-2 to the Fanshawe Falcons.
• Humber put together its most dominant regular season in program history, scoring a provincial best 52 goals.
• The Hawks boasted the top defensive unit in the OCAA and did not surrender a goal during the regular season.
• Humber's dominant regular season campaign saw the Hawks rise to the fourth-ranked program in the country.

Streaking
Humber enters the '19 campaign with 20 consecutive regular-season wins – one off its record established nearly two decades ago (21 – Nov. 2000 – Nov. 2001).

At the Helm
Mauro Ongaro returns for his 24th season as head coach with an all-time record of 213-49-27 (.737). This will be the first season Ongaro will coach without co-head coach Vince Pileggi at his side. Jose Caro and Kat Conde will return as assistant coaches.

Pushing Forward
Much of Humber's championship aspirations will revolve around its returning core players. All-stars Giulia Zanardi, Rebecca Spratt, and Claudia Piazza combined for 23 tallies last season, while Stephanie Gutierrez and Breanna Senfner will continue to add to Humber's offensive attack.

Taylor Thomson recorded a career-high three goals and will once again lead Humber's stringent backline as she heads into her fourth season with the Hawks. Remi Pelletier, defensive player of the year Dominika Philip and rookie of the year Lily Campbell will look to build off their impressive '18 campaign on defence, as well.

Keeper Vanessa Fiore returns for her fourth season, looking to build on her incredible career numbers. She enters the year with a 25-0-2 regular-season record, with 21 clean sheets and only six goals allowed in 27 matches.

Fresh Faces
With the departure of a few key pieces from 2018, Coach Ongaro and Humber's coaching staff announced the signing of six top recruits for the '19 campaign.

All-Time List
Giulia Zanardi and Rebecca Spratt will look to continue to climb Humber's all-time scoring list. In three seasons, Zanardi sits fourth with 21 regular season tallies, while Spratt sits fifth with 19.

Schedule

• The 2019 slate features four home matches at the Ontario Soccer Centre and each match will be streamed live on the Hawks Sports Network.
• The Hawks will face three teams that made an appearance at the 2018 OCAA Championship, including the defending provincial champion Fanshawe Falcons on September 11.
• Seniors Night will be on October 9 against UTM.