OSHAWA, Ont. - The medal round on Sunday is set at the 2022 OCAA Women's Soccer Championship after a semifinal round that saw both matches need extra time.
In the first semifinal, the Humber Hawks scored first as Kaitlynn Russell put her team ahead with a 17th minute goal.
It would not be until the 64th minute that another goal was scored, this time with Natasha Desjardins finding the back of the net for the Niagara Knights to tie the match up at one goal each.
In the 85th minute, OCAA Player of the Year Sydney Sica scored her biggest goal of the season for the Knights to take a 2-1 lead late in the match. In the 90th minute with their season on the line, Elisa Oliveira hit a perfect free kick from just outside of the 18-yard box over the wall of defenders for the Hawks to force extra time.
With less than three minutes remaining until potential penalty kicks, Remi Pelletier gave the Hawks their first lead of the match with a 118th minute goal to send the Humber faithful roaring. Pelletier's goal sent Humber through to the gold medal match, forcing Niagara to play for bronze at noon on Sunday.
Humber outshot Niagara 10-7 in the match. Of seven shots on target, Sierra Naccarato saved four for the Knights, while Isabella Bernardi stopped four of six shots on target for the Hawks.
Durham was on the board first in the second semifinal with an early 12th minute goal from the Lords' leading goal scorer, Sage Thomas-Roberts. The hosts would not lead for long, as Olivia Lamacchia responded quickly only six minutes later to tie the game back up.
In the 26th minute, Erika Bjorgum got on the board with a goal to put the Lords back ahead. With two goals in under 26 minutes, the Sting had already conceded more goals than they did in the entirety of their nationally ranked regular season.
Jordan Burke answered back in the 28th minute for Seneca to tie the game up again before the half hour mark.
With no more goals through the remaining 62 minutes, the OCAA championship would see its second match of the day need extra time to decide a winner.
After a scoreless first 15 minutes, Lamacchia scored her second of the match in the 111th minute to give the Sting their first lead of the day. This would also be the winning goal that sent the Sting through to the gold medal match and the Lords to compete for a bronze medal.
Nikki Bradshaw saved 12 of 15 shots on target in the match for Durham, as the Sting outshot the Lords 24-6 in total shots.
On Sunday, the Durham Lords and Niagara Knights will battle it out for a bronze medal at 12 p.m. The Humber Hawks and Seneca Sting have both clinched a spot at the 2022 CCAA Women's Soccer National Championship, but will first try to earn a provincial gold medal at 3 p.m.
Source: Durham Lords
Championship Website: www.ocaa.com/wsoc
Live Webcast: www.ocaa.com/ocaalive
Thursday, October 27
Quarter-Finals
Game #1: Niagara def. Algonquin 5-0
Game #2: Humber def. Cambrian 1-0
Game #3: Durham def. Mohawk 1-0
Game #4: Seneca def. Centennial 4-0
Saturday, October 29
Semi-Finals
Game #5: Humber def. Niagara 3-2 (OT)
Game #6: Seneca def. Durham 3-2 (OT)
Sunday, October 30
Bronze Medal Match
Game #7: Niagara vs. Durham - 12 p.m.
Winning team presented OCAA Bronze Medal at conclusion of match
Gold Medal Match
Game #8: Humber vs. Seneca - 3 p.m.
OCAA Gold and Silver Medals presented at conclusion of match
- OCAA -
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