Final four bound for No. 1 Men's Soccer
By: Nina Kersnik
Humber Athletics Communications
TORONTO – On a cool but windy day at Ester Shiner Stadium, top-ranked Humber men's soccer (2-0-0) breezed by the Niagara Knights (1-1-0) on Saturday afternoon, 5-0. The win sends the Hawks to the OCAA Final Four, setting up a matchup with the Seneca Sting and former head coach Michael Aquino, who led Humber to an unprecedented seven CCAA national titles.
Match recap
Despite the cool weather, the Hawks aimed to keep the temperature high for fans to witness a battle between the Humber Hawks and the Niagara Knights for a spot in the final four.
Right from kick-off, the Hawks, who remain undefeated in the OCAA, made their dominance known. At the five-minute mark, Hawks' third-year midfielder Franz Mella scored the first of the match and gave Humber the advantage.
Mella leads Humber and ranks second in the conference in shots with 22 in 11 games played.
From then on, the Hawks would continue to drive into Niagara territory and create chances, but none would enter the net.
In the 36th minute, Niagara's Anthony Hendriks received a yellow for fouling Franz Mella, resulting in a penalty. Humber's Luca Pinto fired the shot in the bottom left corner of the netting, as Niagara's keeper Patrick Iwanisik dove the opposite way. The fourth-year defenseman tops Humber with 7 assists and 19 points in 12 games played.
With just 10 minutes left in the half, the Hawks lead 2-0.
After the break head coach for the Hawks Jason Mesa subbed off Adrian Anthony for Allister Johnson and Marcus Riviere for Tyler Yasaka.
In the 49th minute, Humber's third-year midfielder Tariq Joseph sent a long pass into the Knights' territory, allowing the Hawks to pressure Niagara's defence. The goal-scoring opportunity came from Mella once again, on an assist from Tyler Yasaka, who came in fresh off the bench. The Toronto native sent the rock over the diving keeper for Humber's third goal. The 2025 Humber Soccer MVP has a .273 shooting percentage, down from .278 during last season.
To put on some fresh legs, head coach Jason Mesa would send Cristiano Candelaresi and Tenzin Wosal in for Matthew Smith and Franz Mella.
In the 55th minute Humber gained possession off of a Niagara throw in and pass the ball off to the far left for first year forward Tyler Yasaka. From a couple yards out, Yasaka would score the Hawks fourth goal on an assist by teammate Marcus Riviere, that sailed over the keeper into the netting.
Not long after the game turned physical. From the 58th minute Humber's bench and player Tariq Joseph received a yellow for stalling play. Fourth-year midfielder Cisco Thomas was also served a double yellow within seconds of each other, and sent off on a red.
Niagara would then gain some energy to get into the offensive zone, but a couple missed passes would give the Hawks possession.
With than 15 minutes to go, Humber would get their final opportunity of the game, with a penalty awarded to second year forward Cristiano Candelaresi after colliding with the Knights' keeper Logan Dickie for the rock. However, the penalty shot was deemed missed, after a save, and Dickie was issued a yellow card because of the collision.
With just under 10 minutes left in regulation time, Niagara's Gerrit Oldejans would create the last chance for the Knights with a shot at the net, but play was stopped by Humber's Danial Sanei. The second-year keeper leads Humber in saves with 24 and only 4 goals against.
At the final whistle, Humber shut out the Niagara Knights with a 5-0 victory to move onto the final four round.
Humber Highlights
- The Hawks have a 2-0 all-time record against the Niagara Knights in the post season.
- Humber ranks second in the conference in offence.
- The Hawks will be making their 15th consecutive OCAA final four appearance.
- With Humber's five yellow cards from today's game, their record now stands at 29 in 12 games played, two behind Sheridan with 31.
- Humber ranks second in assists in the OCAA with 36.
- Hawks' keeper Danial Sanei ranks third in the conference with 24 saves, marking his career high from just six saves last season.
What's Next?
The Hawks face the Seneca Sting (8-0-2, 1st West) in the semifinals round starting on Oct. 25 at Algonquin College. Kick off is set for 3pm. With the national wildcard, a win in the semifinal will give the Hawks an automatic berth at the 2025 CCAA national tournament.
