Story Courtesy of the Hamilton Spectator
Larry Moko
With the regular season winding down, a shot at the playoffs was on the line Thursday for four of Hamilton’s Ontario Colleges Athletic Association soccer entries.
The Redeemer Royals travelled to Mohawk Sports Complex to take on the Mohawk Mountaineers in both men’s and women’s divisions. The Mountain teams each find themselves in the middle of the pack, hoping to finish in the top four of the West Region standings in order to qualify for post-season play.
Divisional playoff qualifying games have been eliminated this season as a result of the condensed schedule that was put into effect after last month’s work stoppage by support staff at Ontario’s colleges.
In the women’s contest, Mohawk (4-3) kept its hopes alive with a 2-1 victory over the Royals (3-3). The Mountaineers have one game remaining — Oct. 19 at Sheridan — while the Royals have games Oct. 15 against Sheridan and Oct. 19 at Fanshawe.
The Conestoga Condors are also in the running, however. They have the same number of points as Redeemer with two games remaining.
In the men’s half of the doubleheader, the Mountaineers also won 2-1 to vault into third spot with a record of 3-2-2. Mohawk’s final game is Oct. 18 at Sheridan. Redeemer (2-4) completes its schedule Oct. 15 against Sheridan and Oct. 18 at Fanshawe.
“This was a big game for us,” said Redeemer men’s coach Dave Mantel. “We needed to get three points in order to really challenge for the fourth playoff spot. For us, it doesn’t look good.
“I thought we generated more chances than they did. We hit a lot of good shots less than a foot off the target.”
Rookie Jordan DeVries of Brantford scored the lone goal for the Royals, after Abdullah Abdullah and Dundas’s Matthew Kernick put the Mountaineers up 2-0.
“This was a must win,” said Mohawk men’s coach Richard Bennett. “If we had lost, our playoffs would be in jeopardy. Our final game is against a very tough Sheridan team (along with Humber, the only undefeated teams in the division).”
“Redeemer put the pressure on us. We didn’t panic at all. We’re a good team, but we haven’t come to the level of our potential yet. We did what it takes to win and I’m satisfied with that.”
On the field adjacent to the men’s game, the Mohawk women built a 2-0 lead on goals by Stephanie Brunett and Ashley Hagen. Leesha DeWeerd capped a long run down the wing by blasting in a sharp-angle shot to spoil Alyshia Smith’s shutout bid in the final few minutes.
Brunett, a graduate of Hamilton St. Mary’s, opened the scoring in the first half on a free kick from near the corner-kick area. “I was trying to cross it,” the second-year Mountaineer said.
Hagen’s goal was lifted high over goalkeeper Shawna Druif from about 25 yards. It was Hagen’s league-leading 11th marker of the season.
“Their goalie came out and was trying to clear it or something,” said Hagen, a product of Hamilton District Christian High School. “We got hold of the ball and I asked for it right away because I knew she was out.”
Mohawk women’s co-coach Michael Castellani said Hagen has really taken charge in her second year of OCAA competition.
“This is a different league than a lot of girls are used to,” Castellani said. “It’s a lot more rough, intense and faster-paced. It took Ashley a year to get settled. She’s really found her groove. She’s got a fantastic shot, both left and right. And she’s very intuitive as to where the net is. She makes fantastic runs when she needs to and the team feeds her the ball.”
Redeemer teams are a combined 5-1 at home since they began playing on their new soccer field this season.
