Women's Soccer open nationals with clean sheet victory
By: Stefan Gerardi
Humber Athletics Communications
SAINT-LAMBERT – Humber women's soccer opened the 2022 CCAA national championship with a clean sheet victory over the Les Rouges des Saint-Boniface, 3-0. After a slow start from the Hawks, tallies from Antonia Gatti, Emily Robitaille, and Catarina Medeiros put the match in Humber's favour, and the squad never looked back. The victory keeps Humber's medal aspirations alive and the Hawks will move on to the semifinal round on November 10.
Match Recap
As the game kicked off on a brisk morning in the suburbs just east of Montreal, early jitters from the Hawks were evident on the pitch. Humber struggled to control possession in the match's first 20 minutes and first-year goalkeeper, Isabella Bernardi, had to stand on her head to keep the game a scoreless draw.
Once the initial nerves stabilized, the Hawks were able to savour the moment of representing their school on the biggest stage in Canadian collegiate soccer, and the squad regained their focus. In the 23rd minute, Humber notched the match's first goal off the boot of midfielder Antonia Gatti. The Scarborough native's shot from well outside the 18-yard box eluded the Saint-Boniface keeper after a tricky bounce in tight with the target. Gatti's first tally of the tournament sent Humber to halftime with a 1-0 advantage over Saint-Boniface. Jose Caro and his team were looking to add to their lead in the second half and secure a spot in the CCAA semifinals for the second consecutive year.
Humber's momentum continued into the second half as the Hawks completely took over. The fifth-ranked team in the nation was all over Saint-Boniface on the offensive end, controlling much of the run of play. Looking to extend their lead, Emma Genova made a brilliant pass to Cara Serapiglia in the box, but the keeper made a sprawling save on Serapiglia's shot.
Less than a minute later, Vanessa Reda made a pass to Emily Robitaille, who would flip the script, and double the Hawks' lead to two. Another deep shot stumped Les Rouge's goalkeeper, and the Mississauga native was awarded her first-career goal as a Humber Hawk.
Looking to ice the match, Robitaille's through ball sprung All-Canadian Kaitlynn Russell into the box, but after beating the keeper, Russell's shot was cleared away off the line by a defender.
The Hawks penetrated Les Rouges' tight defence in the 73rd minute with their third and final tally of the match. After Kaitlynn Russell controlled the ball deep into Saint-Boniface's end, she passed it off to Catarina Medeiros, who would find the bottom right side of the net. Humber's three-goal lead late in the match put Saint-Boniface on the heels as they had no shot at making a comeback. As the match referee's whistle blew to conclude the contest, the Hawks' national championship hopes would live to see another match as they were awarded a spot in the semifinals with their victory.
Isabella Bernardi recorded her first win and clean sheet of the 2022 CCAA National Championship tournament. After a dominant opening match, Vanessa Reda was named the 4imprint player of the game.
Humber Highlights
- Wednesday morning's matchup against Les Rouges des Saint-Boniface was Humber's first clash with the Winnipeg-based university.
- Humber's victory against Saint-Boniface marks its first victory against a team from the province of Manitoba in program history.
- The Hawks have advanced to their third CCAA semifinals in program history.
- Humber has improved its CCAA quarterfinal record to 3-7. The Hawks also won by a score of 3-0 in last year's CCAA quarterfinal matchup against the Fanshawe Falcons.
What's Next?
Humber women's soccer will face the Saint-Lambert Cavaliers on November 10 in the semifinal round. Kick-off is slated for 3 p.m, and the winner will advance to the CCAA gold medal game.
