OCAA News

As the top two collegiate teams in the province kicked off to battle for the OCAA Men's Soccer Championship, the Hawks were looking to win their 15th OCAA gold in program history. Humber knew its clash against the Sting would be tough as Seneca was the only other team with a perfect season; however, the jam-packed bleachers at the Ontario Soccer Centre were cheering loudly for the talented Hawks squad and gave them the motivation to jump out to an early lead. In the 23rd minute, the OCAA Defensive Player of the Year Alex Meczarski opened the scoring and put the Hawks ahead. After Damion Kaye chipped the ball into the box over two Sting defenders, Meczarski swiftly crept behind the defence to bury the go-ahead tally. The Hawks momentum from Meczarski's goal continued as Humber doubled their lead four minutes later with a goal off the head of Abdul-Azeez Babawale. A perfectly placed corner from the captain, Luca Uccello, found Babawale in the box, and the Toronto native made no mistake in finding the top-right corner of the meshing. Babawale's second of the tournament put the Hawks in the driver's seat, sending them into the break with a 2-0 lead. The Hawks' dream start to the gold medal game came true as they dominated Seneca in the first half. Humber controlled possession for much of the half and had five shot attempts, with four coming on target. Meanwhile, Seneca's poor first-half performance saw them only taking one shot attempt that missed the net. After a chippy start to the half that saw the squads trade fouls and yellow cards, Babawale scored a nearly identical goal to his firsthalf marker. A Uccello corner found the head of Babawale in the box, and he potted his second of the match to put the Hawks ahead by three in the 65th minute. Babawale would score his hat-trick tally in the 77th minute to put the Hawks ahead by a dominating four goals. OCAA First-Team League All-Star Kadell Thomas rushed into the box and crossed the ball over to a speedy Babawale driving the net, where he potted his third goal of the match, securing a provincial championship for the Hawks. As the match referee's whistle blew, the Hawks were declared the 2022 OCAA champions and the kings of collegiate soccer in Ontario for the 10th time in 12 years.

The 2022 OCAA Women's Soccer Championship came to an end on Sunday, with the Humber Hawks winning their first gold medal since 2012.

In the bronze medal match, Niagara was playing for their first OCAA medal in program history. Durham was looking to earn bronze for the first time since 2018.

In the ninth minute of the match, Megan Morgado put the Knights ahead 1-0. OCAA Women's Soccer Player of the Year Sydney Sica scored less than three minutes later to put the Knights up by two. Erika Bjorgum scored early in the second half with a 48th minute goal assisted from Sage Thomas-Roberts. Only one minute later, Thomas-Roberts scored to tie the match, only four minutes into the second half and all of a sudden we had a whole new game. Late in the match, Rylan Geatrix scored the winner in the 82nd minute to give the Knights their first OCAA medal in women's soccer.

Sica was named the Player of the Match for the Knights and McKenna Jackson was selected to the Championship All-Star team. Thomas-Roberts was named the Player of the Match for the Lords and earned a Championship All-Star award. The Humber Hawks and Seneca Sting ended the championship with the gold medal match. Chantel Spalla opened the scoring 10 minutes in to give the Hawks an early lead. Nine minutes into the second half, Kaitlynn Russell fired home a 54th minute goal to double Humber's lead over the Sting and eventually to win the gold medal. Isabella Bernardi posted a clean sheet for the Hawks, turning aside all six shots on target. Seneca had more shots in the match, with nine to Humber's four. A relatively clean match, each side were only shown one caution. Humber will head to the 2022 CCAA Women's Soccer Championship in Saint-Lambert, Que., as the OCAA champions and Seneca will join them as an OCAA wild card.