The Humber Hawks men’s soccer team won silver in the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association’s indoor soccer tournament at the Zanchin Automotive Soccer Centre in Vaughan on March 11 and 12.
Coming off a national title in November, the Hawks were looking to redeem themselves provincially after losing the OCAA outdoor final to the Conestoga Condors.
Going into the competition, Humber had won the previous two consecutive gold medals, hoping to three-peat for the first time since it won six-straight from 2001 to 2006.
A week before the tournament started, the Hawks played in their pool matches, attempting to qualify.
Humber defeated the Durham Lords, Confederation Thunderhawks, but fell to the Seneca Sting and former Hawks head coach Michael Aquino to take second in the group.
The Hawks had their opponents drawn for the round-robin phase on March 11, and the draw would see them face the host Sheridan Bruins, Centennial Colts, and an OCAA gold rematch against the Condors.
Humber would first face the Bruins. In the first half, neither team was able to find an opening and went into the break even at 0-0.
After half-time, both teams stepped up the tempo, with five total goals scored in the second half.
Humber would score first with third-year midfielder Franz Mella finding a way past Sheridan goalkeeper Nicholas Ceglarski with a shot into the bottom left corner.
The Bruins would quickly tie the game up as the home crowd erupted with the game tied at 1-1.
Mella would score again to make it 2-1 for the Hawks after he rocketed a shot past Ceglarski.
A penalty was won by first-year forward Cristiano Candelaresi after he was pushed in the back, and fourth-year defender Isaiah Noel would easily dispatch it to make it 3-1.
Sheridan scored a consolation goal late, but Humber would take the 3-2 win.
Centennial was the next opponent for the Hawks to face.
A physical match-up between two of the favourites in the tournament, especially after the Colts tied their first game against Conestoga.
A 1-1 tie going into added time saw both teams dying to find one final chance before the referee blew the whistle.
It was Humber that found the late winner through Mella again, who taunted Centennial goalkeeper Joshua Naraine, telling him to “use your hands.”
Two wins out of two for the Hawks saw them confident going into their final round-robin game against Conestoga, with the group already wrapped up.
Against the Condors, Humber dominated, but only managed to find the net twice, to go perfect in the round robin stage, eliminating Conestoga in the process.
The Hawks would be drawn up against the St. Clair Saints in the semi-finals.
After beating Redeemer and Seneca, the Saints finished second in its group, only behind the Fanshawe Falcons, who also went a perfect three-for-three in the groups.
Humber would take an early lead just two minutes in thanks to a penalty from first-year midfielder Michael Crocco.
Second-year midfielder Tenzin Wosal found himself at the end of one of the multiple chances the Hawks had to extend the lead to two.
Following the break, St. Clair would get one back to bring the deficit to one just three minutes after halftime.
Humber would extend its lead back to two with Noel scoring five minutes from the final whistle to finish the game 3-1, advancing the Hawks to their third-straight OCAA indoor soccer gold medal game.
The final would be a rematch between Humber and Centennial after the Colts defeated Fanshawe 2-1 in the other semi-final.
A repeat of the matchup was also a repeat of the tempo, with the game being even more physical and chippier, with the stakes being higher.
Humber broke the deadlock early with a thunderstrike from Noel in what might be his last game as a Hawk.
Head coach Jason Mesa said players like Noel and captain Luca Pinto, are leaders in the team and replacing them are very big ifs.
“Those two guys have been pillars for us in the back row this year,” Mesa said. “But I'm going to work as hard as I can to see if I can get them to come back for one more.”
Just three minutes before half, the Colts would find the tie off a quick free kick while the Hawks were out of shape.
The second half would bring no goals, but many chances for both teams, as would extra time for either team to find that late goal like the first matchup.
Penalties would decide the gold medal match.
Centennial would score its first penalty, while Pinto had his saved.
The Colts would miss their next one, while Crocco tied it up, scoring his.
Both teams would make each of their next three penalties, with Centennial scoring to take a 5-4 lead.
Fourth-year midfielder Cisco Thomas rattled the ball off the crossbar, giving the Colts their first indoor soccer gold medal since the 1993-1994 season.
Mesa said it was a very good year for the team, not a great one.
“The provincial final [was] within our grasp. And unfortunately, we haven't been able to achieve that goal. Obviously, winning the national final in the fall was very special. It would have been nice to be able to bring home two golds this year."
Pinto said the thing with the team is always family, and although it didn’t lead to gold, they can look at the season as a good one.
“It became a bit sloppy, and I don't think we ever should have went to penalties, but, you know, it happens.”
Mella said the team, despite the loss, is staying together and will try to run it back next season.
“They're not leaving, man, they're staying. One more year. All of our last years are next year. We're all here, man. No one's leaving,” he said.
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