By: Caio Miari and Kajan Thiruthanikasalam
The Centennial Colts men’s and women’s soccer teams had high hopes and were both intriguing heading into the 2019-2020 outdoor season.
The men were coming off of a 6-2-2 record last year as they lost at home in the crossover game against the Sheridan Bruins; it was the second straight year that the Colts’ season ended at the hands of the Bruins in the crossover match.
For the Lady Colts, who had a historic individual season by their newest star, they were coming off a season in which they finished with a 2-9-1 record and missed the postseason for the sixth straight time.
Despite promising starts to their campaigns, it fizzled out due to lengthy six-game losing streaks (including playoffs) as both the Centennial teams ended with a whimper during the crossover game. The women fell 7-0 on the road to the eventual OCAA champion Fanshawe Falcons on Oct. 19 while the men were blown out on the road, 6-1 on Oct. 19, at the hands of the UTM Eagles.
Here are a look at how their seasons fared through in more detail.
MEN’S SOCCER
Record: 3-5
Standings: Sixth in OCAA East
Season End: @UTM (6-1) on Oct. 19 in crossover game
As good as last season was for the Centennial Colts, head coach Julian Carr had a tough task on his hands for recruitment season as much of his backline were gone due to graduation (Ostap Hamarnyk, Rodion Matveev, Kevin Segamanasinghe).
Carr immediately went to work as the recruiting class was headlined by Jordale Byers (striker), Joshua Cooper (defense), and Vincent Servinis (centreback).
The Colts started off on the road for the first two games of the season (Sep. 7-8) against the Cambrian Golden Shield and the Sault Cougars. A two-goal effort from Keith Dadson led Centennial to a 5-1 win over Cambrian while Stephen Hwedieh’s lone goal secured a 1-0 victory over Sault.
Centennial then opened their home portion of the season with a 2-1 win over the Fleming Knights on the strength of second half goals from Damian Davis and Dave Medley.
However, they lost their final three home games. Algonquin’s defense was too much to handle in a 3-0 loss on Sept. 27, followed by a tough 3-2 loss in the following day to the St. Lawrence Vikings despite Steven Mirabal’s two goals. It looked like they would get a hard-earned point against the eventual CCAA champion Durham Lords on Oct. 7 but a stoppage-time header from Durham set up a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to the Colts.
Six unanswered goals in the second half from the George Huskies led to a 6-1 road loss on Oct. 12, followed by a hard-luck 1-0 defeat to the Seneca Sting to wrap up the regular season via another stoppage-time goal.
The Colts drew the Eagles in the crossover game on the road, and UTM’s 4-0 early lead set the tone for a 6-1 contest. Byers scored the lone goal for Centennial.
Centennial did a great job of getting their shots on net, ranking third in the OCAA with 71.4% of their shots on target. However, they were in the bottom 10 in shot percentage (12th; 13%), goals scored (12th, 12), shots (14th; 92), and shots per game (14th; 11.5). The Colts' frustration throughout the second half of the season was evident in the yellow cards column as they were tied for first in the OCAA with 21 bookings.
Dadson led the Colts with three goals and six points for the season. Goalkeeper Chimdubem Oneyeka played in all eight games, finishing with a 2.13 goals against average, 70.7% save percentage, and 41 saves made.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Record: 2-7
Standings: Seventh in OCAA East
Season End: Loss @Fanshawe (7-0) on Oct. 19 in crossover game
Colts head coach Diarmuid O’Connor, after seeing how his team struggled to score last season, went into the previous offseason looking to add more offensively-minded players. He did just that as a recruiting class headlined by Nailah Rowe, Shianne Carrington, Joia Frank, and Hannah Sealy were introduced as the newest members of the women’s soccer team over the summer.
The Lady Colts started off the regular season on the road (Sept. 7-8) with two inexplicable losses against the Cambrian Golden Shield (2-1) and Sault Cougars (3-2). They headed back to Progress Turf Field looking to get into the win column sooner than they did last season.
It didn’t take them long as Rowe scored a hat trick in the Colts’ 5-1 win on Sept. 13 against the Loyalist Lancers. Rowe also added a pair of goals against Fleming on Sept. 18 in the second straight victory, this time by a score of 3-1.
However, Centennial suffered five tough losses in the final five games of the regular season. The Lady Colts suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Thunder on Sept. 27 followed by a gut-wrenching 2-1 loss the next day to the St. Lawrence Vikings after a go-ahead goal for the visitors late in the second half.
Inability to hold early leads then reared its ugly head in the next two games. Centennial held a 1-0 lead after an early second half goal on Oct. 4 but Durham scored six unanswered buckets and the hosts fell 6-1 in their home finale. In the following week, the Colts held a 2-1 lead on the road in the second half against the George Brown Huskies but fell 3-2 after allowing a last-minute goal.
They hung in tough on the road in the regular season finale on Oct. 16 against the top seeded Seneca Sting as they were even at one apiece at the break. Seneca, though, used two second-half goals to defeat the Colts 3-1. During the five game losing streak, Centennial scored six goals… all of them by Rowe.
The Lady Colts qualified for the crossover game for the first time in seven years but they were facing a tall task on the road ahead of them in the Fanshawe Falcons on Oct. 19. Fanshawe made quick work of Centennial, scoring seven first-half goals en route to a 7-0 win that ended Centennial’s outdoor year. It was the only game in which the Colts did not score a goal.
Goaltending duties were in the hands of Sabrina Rizzo as the starting goalie and Sealy as the backup. Rizzo played seven games and had a 2.86 GAA with a 79.2% save percentage and a total of 76 saves. Sealy made 16 saves with an 80% save percentage and a 2.00 GAA in two appearances.
Centennial ranked middle of the pack in many offensive categories, finishing 11th in the OCAA in shots (120), goals scored (17), shots per game (13.3), and corner kicks (29). They finished ninth in shot percentage (14.2%) and shots on goal (83) as well as sixth in shot on goal percentage (69.2%).
Leading the charge offensively was Rowe, who had herself a historic season for Centennial. The first-year striker set a school record with a total of 13 goals and 26 points as she scored in every regular season game, providing a spark whether it was with her scoring or her playmaking.
The Ajax, Ont., native stellar season and individual accomplishments were recognized with four yearly awards at the end of the campaign: OCAA East Division Rookie of the Year, OCAA Rookie of the Year, OCAA East Division Scoring Champion, and OCAA East Division First Team All-Star.
Check out the full schedule for the Men’s and Women’s soccer here: https://gocolts.ca/composite