FINAL FOUR PLAY FOR OCAA WOMEN’S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP

VAUGHAN, Ont. - Déjà vu is the theme of the 2011 Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Women's Soccer Championship.

If a die hard OCAA women's soccer fan fell into a coma 365 days ago, they would awake today and think nothing was amiss. That is because the exact same four teams will compete for this year's title as they did last year, with semi-final rematches to boot.

The key difference is that three teams want to improve their fortunes this time around, while one team wants to see things remain status quo when the sun sets on Saturday. That latter team is the defending champion Humber Hawks, winners of nine straight games to open the 2011 OCAA regular and post seasons.

Standing in Humber's way of a repeat are a pair of undefeated teams in Algonquin and Seneca, and last year's runner-up Fanshawe, the 2009 OCAA champions. Fanshawe's only loss came against Humber during the regular season.

Humber College (8-0-0, 1st West)

The Humber Hawks have not lost a regular or post-season OCAA match since the 2009 OCAA semi-finals. They are now two victories from the first OCAA women's soccer repeat since Durham won two straight in 2006 and 2007.

Humber has displayed a knack for offensive explosiveness and defensive stinginess. Tied for the regular season lead in goals with 40 in total, Humber gave up just three goals against. The Hawks proved they can win a low scoring match in their 1-0 quarter-final victory over La Cite last Saturday.

Ashley Costa (Cambridge, Ont.) led Humber with nine goals this season. Teammate Keyla Moreno (Toronto) contributed six goals of her own, as well as the game-winning goal against La Cite.

Algonquin College (6-0-1, 1st East)

The defending OCAA bronze medalists, Algonquin has an offensive flair while allowing just two goals against during the regular season.

Sydney Midwood led Algonquin with eight regular season goals, while teammate Jaymie Baldree contributed five goals. Both players are from Kingston, Ont.

Ginny Cass (Burlington, Ont.) and Chelsea McLean (Ottawa) scored a pair of goals each in a 4-1 quarter-final win over Conestoga last Saturday.

Fanshawe College (7-1-0, 2nd West)

The defending OCAA silver medalists, the Fanshawe Falcons tied Humber for a league-high 40 goals scored during the regular season.

Eleven different players scored for Fanshawe during the regular season, including Jaynie VanDeWalle (St. Marys, Ont.) with a team-best eight goals. Bailey Maxwell (St. Thomas, Ont.) added six, and Jory-Lynn Uyl (Blyth, Ont.) contributed five goals during the regular season.

Fanshawe was thankful to have Uyl in its quarter-final victory over Durham. Url scored a pair of goals, including one in overtime, to lift the Falcons to a 2-1 win.

Seneca College (4-0-3, 2nd East)

The Seneca Sting have battled in close games all season, including a pair of 0-0 matches against Algonquin and La Cite. But these two results are likely due to the result of poor weather conditions rather than offensive inability.

Samantha Perri (Woodbridge, Ont.) led all Seneca players with four goals. On defence, the Sting only allowed two goals all regular season.

Seneca's offence came to life in a 4-1 quarter-final victory over Sheridan. Samantha Macchione (Maple, Ont.) earned a hat trick for the Sting in the win.

OCAA Semi-Finals
Algonquin vs. Fanshawe

Fanshawe defeated Algonquin 2-1 in a closely fought semi-final match last season. After going scoreless through 45 minutes, Baldree slipped the ball under a diving Fanshawe goalkeeper Sarah King (Peterborough, Ont.) to give the Thunder a 1-0 lead.

Fanshawe quickly tied the score when Victoria Morelly (Newmarket, Ont.) buried a rebound on a penalty shot for the Falcons. Fanshawe would pull ahead for good in the 80th minute when Meaghen Orr (London, Ont.) scored. Both players are no longer with the Falcons.

VanDeWalle and Jennifer Kelly (Ottawa) were named player of the games for Fanshawe and Algonquin, respectively.

Humber vs. Seneca

Humber blanked Seneca 3-0 in last year's semi-final meeting.

Player of the game Sonia Rocha (Mississauga, Ont.) was one of three Hawks that scored against Seneca. Bianca Barbieri (Toronto) and Angela Solarz (Trenton, Ont.) also booted balls behind Seneca goaltender and player of the game Katerina Conde (Toronto). Solarz and Conde are no longer with their respective teams.

Winners of each semi-final game advance to the gold medal game. Losing semi-final teams compete in the bronze medal game. All games will take place at The Soccer Centre in Vaughan, Ont. Games played on the OSA Turf Field will be webcast live on Sportslive.ca.

Website: www.ocaa.com/championships/2011-12/soccer

Championship Location
The Soccer Centre
7601 Martin Grove Road
Vaughan, Ontario

Championship Schedule
Friday, October 28
Semi-Finals
Algonquin vs. Fanshawe - City of Vaughan Turf Field - 12 p.m.
Humber vs. Seneca - OSA Turf Field - 12:30 p.m.

Saturday, October 29
Bronze Medal Game
Semi-Final Losers - OSA Turf Field - 9 a.m.
Gold Medal Game
Semi-Final Winners - OSA Turf Field - 12 p.m.

- OCAA -

ABOUT ONTARIO COLLEGES ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

The Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) is a recognized leader in intercollegiate athletics in the province, dedicated to student athlete and sport development. The OCAA has 31 members sponsoring 16 league and tournament championships.

For additional information please contact:
Josh Bell-Webster
Marketing and Communications
Ontario Colleges Athletic Association
Tel: 416-426-7041
Fax: 416-426-7308
E-mail: bell-webster@ocaa.com