No. 1 Men's Soccer downs Niagara on grad night

By: Stefan Gerardi
Humber Athletics Communications

VAUGHAN – Top-ranked Humber men's soccer (9-0-0, 1st West) defeated the Niagara Knights (1-8-0, 8th West) by a score of 11-0. The Hawks defended their home turf at the Ontario Soccer Centre with an offensive explosion as the match marked the Hawks' last home game of the regular season. In total, seven Hawks recorded points in the game with four players scoring two goals. Graduating student-athletes Alex Meczarski, Luca Uccello, Federico Leal and Osman Hussein were honoured on the pitch with a short pre-game ceremony to show appreciation for their efforts as Humber Hawks.

Match Recap

The Hawks knew they had 90 minutes to prove to their fans one last time why they are the number one team in the country before playoffs. The ceremony for the Hawks' graduates seemed to spark the team to do just that as they put on a show for Hawks nation against the struggling Niagara Knights.

The Hawks came out the gate hot scoring three goals in the first ten minutes of action with captain and graduating student Luca Uccello being a major part of every tally. Although he didn't get an assist on the first goal in the third minute, Uccello's set up pass in the box to Santino De Bartolo allowed for Wahiz Rahimi to score a tap-in for his third of the season. In the seventh minute, Markham-native Uccello would then curl a missile off a free kick that would find the back of the net. A minute later, Uccello would record an assist on a Kadell Thomas goal to add to his OCAA-leading assist total.

In the 36^th minute, OCAA star of the week Kadell Thomas' second of the afternoon would put the Hawks up four. The team's goal scoring leader swiftly maneuvered around three Niagara defenders to find himself in tight with the net where he would make no mistake.

Being down four and only having scored four goals all season, the Niagara Knights were praying for a second half miracle to come back against Canada's number one ranked collegiate soccer team – the Humber Hawks. The Hawks had 16 shots attempts in the first half with ten coming on target to Niagara's two shot attempts with only one coming in on net. The Hawks had seven corners in the half while the Knights had none. Both goalkeepers were tested in the first 45 with Humber's Ezequiel Carrasco having to make one save and Niagara's Vinson Notarianni stopping six shots.

The Hawks' goal-scoring momemtum continued into the second half. After some fancy footwork from Kadell Thomas and precise passing from the Hawks' forward core in the 54^th minute, Luca Uccello would be wide open to score his second tally of the match. The captain would bury the ball in the bottom right corner of the net to record his eighth of the season.

Santino De Bartolo and Damion Kaye would also join the match's goal scoring party as they would each record tallies to put Humber up 8-0. De Bartolo's goal was his second point of the match and was assisted by Milton-native Danny Medeiros. Meanwhile, Damion Kaye would score two goals in less than two minutes after being unable to capitalize on glorious opportunities all game. His first goal in the 63^rd minute was unassisted while his second goal in the 65^th minute was assisted by Kadell Thomas for his third point of the match.

The Hawks would add three more to put themselves up 11-0 to conclude the final home game of the season. Santino De Bartolo, Santiago Muniz, and Danny Medeiros all potted goals all within the last 13 minutes of play. Wahiz Rahimi assisted the Muniz goal while De Bartolo assisted Medeiros' tally.

Luca Uccello and Santino De Bartolo led the way for the Hawks as they each recorded 4-point games. The Hawks finished the game posting 30 shot attempts with 19 coming on target. Ezequiel Carrasco made two saves as he picked up his fourth win of the season in as many starts. He was also awarded his fourth clean sheet and remains perfect on the season allowing no goals thus far.

Humber Highlights

• With the win over Niagara, Humber has clinched its 25th division title and its eighth in the last nine years.
• Humber's 50 tallies this season are the most in program history, surpassing its record of 49 in 2009. The Hawks now sit three goals away from tying the record of 53 set by Algonquin in 2006.
• Brampton native Kadell Thomas sits tied in third place in the OCAA with nine goals
• The Hawks' 11 goals vs Niagara is their most in single game this season and the second most in program history. The Hawks scored 13 against Sault in 2021.
• Luca Uccello leads the OCAA in assists with 11
• The Hawks have now recorded two straight perfect seasons at home
• Humber's all-time record against Niagara now stands at 17-1.

What's next?

No. 1 Humber will have one more game this season before they appear in the OCAA playoffs to defend their provincial championship for a fourth straight year. Humber's final game of the 2022 campaign is an away matchup against Sheridan on Oct. 15. Kick-off is slated for 2 p.m.