Our men's soccer team entered the final game of the regular season with their fate in their hands. A win and the Wolves would finish 1st in the OCAA East for the 2nd straight season. A loss or a tie would see them drop to the 2nd seed going into the OCAA playoffs. In addition to the stakes of this game, it was a special day for graduating seniors Kerim Tosun, Cassius Miron, Alessandro Vivolo, Gershom Dupuy, Claude Byilingiro and Cristian Aviles-Molina who would be playing their final regular season home games as Algonquin Wolves. Prior to the game a small ceremony was held to thank them for their contributions to the men's soccer program.
George Brown entered the game with a 5-4-0 record and locked into the 5th seed in the OCAA East standings. This put the pressure on the Wolves who needed a win to lock up 1st place. Algonquin had some quality opportunities in the 1st half but were unable to find the back of the net. As for George Brown, they were able to capitalize off of a favourable bounce off corner kick that found Daniel Parisotto who was able to score the game's opening goal. The teams entered the locker room with the Huskies leading 1-nil, making the task even harder for the Wolves.
Algonquin started the 2nd half with a lot of energy, pushing to try and solve the Huskies defence who seemed to be content sitting back looking to protect their lead. The Wolves were finally able to find one in the 55th minute when Cristian Aviles-Molina sent a free kick towards the George Brown goal that Alix Basa was able to pounce on. With the game still tied late and the Wolves pushing to try and find the go ahead goal, Mohammed Mecheri subbed into the game. The move paid off. In the 85th minute Mecheri found Alix Basa who was able to slip behind the Huskies defence to score his 2nd goal of the game and 8th of the season to give his team the 2-1 lead. Algonquin was able to hold on to earn their 9th win of the season and remain undefeated at home.
With the win, the Wolves clinched the OCAA East division regular season championship for the 2nd straight season. Despite playing 1 less game this season, there are many Wolves players in the top 5 of the OCAA statistics leaders. Alessandro Vivolo is tied for the league lead in goals and points with 16 goals and 4 assists. Alix Basa led the league in assists with 7 and was 5th in goals with 8. Cassius Miron finished 3rd on the assist list with 5.
The Wolves will benefit from home field advantage throughout the entirety of the playoffs. If they make it through the qualifying game and quarter-final Algonquin will be the host of the OCAA Final 4. The playoff run starts Wednesday October 15th at 8:15 pm when the Fanshawe Falcons come to town. The winner will move on to the quarter-final on Saturday October 18th. Secure your tickets in advance at the link below.
