FINAL FOUR PLAY FOR OCAA MEN’S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP

TORONTO - West will be best at the 2011 Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Men's Soccer Championship.

The OCAA West region has a monopoly over this year's championship, with four of the eight teams that make up the division advancing to the tournament. With all four teams being familiar with one another, coaches will no doubt have an easier time developing game plans against these divisional opponents.

The team to beat is defending champion Humber, who finished the regular season with the top record in the OCAA West region, tied with last year's runner-up Sheridan. Both teams battled to a scoreless draw during the regular season, but Humber earned the top seed due to a better regular season goal differential. Humber edged Sheridan 2-1 in a spirited comeback in last year's gold medal game. There is no doubt Sheridan would love to have some retribution this weekend.

Standing in their way is the upstart Conestoga Condors and St. Clair Saints. Conestoga and St. Clair earned quarter-final road victories in Ottawa last weekend to earn a spot at the championships. The last time either team won an OCAA medal of any colour was back in 2000.

Humber College (7-0-1, 1st West)

The Humber Hawks became the first OCAA men's soccer champion outside of Algonquin since 2003. They are now two wins from building a dynasty of their own.

Similar to their female counterparts, Humber excels in putting the ball into the net at one end while keeping it out in the other. The Hawks scored 27 regular season goals, while allowing just four.

Yousuf Mohammad (Toronto) leads Humber in goal scoring this season, netting seven goals. Roberto Galle (Toronto), Mario Orestano (Woodbridge, Ont.) and Carlos Rojas (Brampton, Ont.) have also been key contributers for the Hawks, with four goals each.

Mohammad netted a pair of goals in a 4-1 quarter-final home victory over Fleming-Peterborough last Saturday.

Sheridan I.T. (7-0-1, 2nd West)

Sheridan, the defending OCAA silver medalists, scored two fewer goals and allowed four more goals than Humber during the regular season, but are still just as dangerous.

Thirteen Bruins scored goals this season, led by David Velastegui's four. Velastegui (Quito, Ecuador) was named OCAA men's soccer rookie of the year in 2010.

Sheridan needed overtime to defeat Seneca 2-0 in its quarter-final game. Velastegui scored both Bruins goals.

Conestoga College (4-3-1, 3rd West)

Conestoga may have a worse regular season record than Humber and Sheridan, but the Condors are arguably the hottest team in OCAA winning five straight matches.

The Condors defeated La Cite on the road 2-1 in Sunday's quarter-final. Osmansoy Osman (Waterloo, Ont.) and Aleksandar Radosevic (Kitchener, Ont.) both scored for Conestoga. La Cite (5-0-2) had not lost a game during the regular season.

Martin Mielnick scored six goals for Conestoga during the regular season, while teammate Felipe Araque contributed four. Both players are from Kitchener, Ont.

St. Clair College (4-4-0, 4th West)

Similar to Conestoga, St. Clair traveled to Ottawa and defeated Algonquin 3-1 in quarter-final action on Saturday. Algonquin had been undefeated with a 6-0-1 record.

Jordan Lidia (Leamington, Ont.) scored all three goals for St. Clair in the victory.

It has already been an eventful season for the Saints, with Robert Malbasic (Windsor, Ont.) setting the OCAA all-time goals record with 55 to his credit. Malbasic led the Saints with 10 goals during the regular season, followed by Lidia's six.

OCAA Semi-Finals
Sheridan vs. St. Clair

Sheridan defeated St. Clair 4-1 in their only regular season meeting back on Sept. 25.

Scoring goals for Sheridan were Velastegui, Marco Colangelo (Toronto), Brandon McKinlay (Burlington, Ont.) and Bismark Marni (Kwasi, Ghana). Replying for St. Clair was Malbasic.

The Bruins have won two straight over St. Clair the past two seasons.

Humber vs. Conestoga

Humber blanked Conestoga 3-0 on Sept. 28.

Orestano did most of the offensive damage for Humber, scoring two goals. Stavros Badunas (Brampton, Ont.) also scored for Humber.

Humber tied Conestoga 2-2 in regular season action in 2010.

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
Sheridan vs. St. Clair - City of Vaughan Turf Field - 3 p.m.
Humber vs. Conestoga - OSA Turf Field - 3:30 p.m.

Saturday, October 29
Bronze Medal Game
Semi-Final Losers - City of Vaughan Turf Field - 9:30 a.m.
Gold Medal Game
Semi-Final Winners - OSA Turf Field - 3 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