HUMBER WIN SETS UP ALL-OCAA NATIONAL MEN'S SOCCER SEMIFINAL

COQUITLAM, B.C. - The No. 5-seeded Humber College Hawks beat out the No. 4 Cégep Garneau Élans of RSEQ 2-0 in a quarter-final at the 2012 CCAA Men's Soccer National Championship.

A spectacular goal by forward Marcus Nunes 15 minutes into the second half put the Hawks ahead for good. Forward Nick Cisternino fired one in on a breakaway in the dying minutes, smothering the hopes of the scrappy Garneau Élans.

Player of the game for the Hawks was Nunes and for Garneau Élans was midfielder Bastien Bourgeault.

The Hawks dominated the first quarter of the game with shots fired and a solid defence that didn't leave any room for Garneau Élans. Nunes pounded a ball off the opposing team's crossbars, one of several opportunities for Humber to lead in the first half.

Garneau Élans soon warmed up, and their keeper Félix Daigle made several outstanding saves, at one point capturing a ball in a melee of boots near the top of the penalty box. Bourgeault pulled off some impressive attacks, weaving around the Humber defence, and getting off a close shot near halftime.

The Hawks came out strong again in the second half, with several good chances on the net. That's when Nunes found the ball on a high bounce and smashed it into the upper corner of the net.

Garneau Élans poured on the pressure in the final stages, pinning the Hawks in their end. A scrum in front of Humber's net with 15 minutes to go almost broke the game even, but the handful of shots tapped in were all blocked. It was a hard way to lose, but a well fought game.

Humber will face Seneca in an all-OCAA national semifinal on Thursday at 6 p.m. ET. Seneca upset No. 1-seeded SAIT 1-0 in its quarter-final match.

Humber defeated Seneca 2-0 in the OCAA gold medal match last month.

Championship Website: www.ccaa.ca/menssoccer2012

Source: Douglas College with files from OCAA Communications