No. 6 Women's Soccer advance to CCAA semifinal round
VAUGHAN – In front of a large home crowd, No. 6 Humber women's soccer upset the SAIT Trojans Wednesday afternoon in the CCAA quarter-final round, 3-0. The Hawks received tallies from Kaitlynn Russell, Rebecca Spratt, and Cara Serapiglia to advance to the national semifinal round for the first time since 2001.
The Trojans were a top-five nationally ranked program all year but it was Humber who opened the match as the more aggressive squad. Despite having zero players with national experience, the Hawks fed off the loud home crowd, dominating possession to begin the match.
In the 19th minute, Hayley Lewis delivered a blistering free-kick from over 40 yards out. Her strike hit the crossbar and deflected right to the boot of OCAA rookie of the year Kaitlynn Russell, who buried her first of the tournament.
As time was winding down in the opening half, Giulia Zanardi and Rebecca Spratt played give-and-go, with Spratt splitting two defenders to score her first career tally at nationals.
Cara Serapiglia sealed the victory for Humber in the 81st minute receiving a feed from Russell along the side of the pitch. The rookie then beat two defenders and buried her shot to the bottom left past the diving SAIT keeper.
Vanessa Fiore turned away five shots to record her first career CCAA clean sheet.
Humber Highlights
- The Hawks improve to 2-7 all-time in the quarter-final round and 4-5 all-time against the ACAC.
- Humber earned its fifth clean sheet in CCAA postseason history.
- The Hawks are now 11-15 all-time at the big dance.
What's Next?
Humber will face the Ste-Foy Dynamiques in the semifinal round on Nov. 11 at 5:30 p.m.
