Men's Soccer Lose Heartbreaker in OCAA Quarterfinal

(October 26) Vaughan, ON- The St. Clair Saints men's soccer team were 10 minutes away from pulling off a huge upset on Wednesday night in Toronto at the OCAA Championship. After playing a great game the Saints ended up falling to the top ranked Seneca Sting 2-1. The Championship is being hosted by Humber College at the Ontario Soccer Centre in Vaughan from Wednesday to Saturday.

On a cold rainy night the teams were scoreless after the first half. The Sting had the strong wind behind them and controlled the possession but the Saints defense limited Seneca's chances. St. Clair keeper Nedeljko Malic (Windsor; Sandwich) had a solid half turning aside a couple of decent chances from distance.

St. Clair got off to strong start in the second half and took a 1- 0 lead in the 54th minute. Ezra Fogal (Windsor; St. Joseph's) headed the ball past Sting goalkeeper after a perfectly placed cross into the box from Massimo Pollard (Windsor; Holy Names). The Saints had a couple good chances to go up 2-0 but could not finish their looks.

Seneca ended up knotting the game at one in the 79th minute off a penalty kick after a very questionable call. Many in attendance and on the pitch felt the weak foul took place outside the 18 yard box but the head official disagreed.

Five minutes after the penalty kick goal, the Sting were awarded a free kick just outside the 18-yard box.  The kick was blocked off the four-man Saints' wall, and after a couple lucky bounces ended up on a Sting players foot with an open corner of the goal.

Defender Austin Severino (Kingsville; Kingsville District) was named the St. Clair player of the game.

It was a great team effort by a very banged up St. Clair squad. Despite missing a couple key starters due to injury and some players playing far from 100% the Saints held their own against Seneca who were undefeated and ranked 4^th in Canada. St. Clair could have easily won the match if not for a couple bad bounces and questionable calls that did not go their way.

The St. Clair coaching staff will now shift their focus to recruiting for next year as the Saints are hosting the CCAA National Championship at Acumen Stadium in November 2023.