 Seneca College plays host to the 2018 Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Women's Soccer Championship presented by belairdirect.
All three of last year's OCAA medalists return to the big stage, including the three-time defending provincial gold medalist Victoria Davis and her Algonquin Thunder teammates, the two-time runners-up Humber Hawks, and bronze winner Fanshawe Falcons.
Four OCAA quarter-final matches take place on Thursday, leading to Friday's semi-finals. The semi-final winners advance to Saturday's gold medal match, while the losing teams play for bronze. Losing teams in the quarter-finals compete in a consolation round.
The other five teams advancing to provincials include the host Seneca Sting, Cambrian Golden Shield, Durham Lords, Niagara Knights and St. Clair Saints.
The OCAA champion advances to the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association Women's Soccer National Championship in Coquitlam, B.C., from Nov. 7-10.
Davis and her defending OCAA gold medalists teammates are attempting to do what no other women's soccer program has done before - win four consecutive titles.
The reigning national bronze medalists have had a down year by their standards, losing to Seneca on Oct. 13 to end a streak of 56 consecutive matches without a regular or post-season loss. Algonquin returned to its winning ways a week later, edging Mohawk on the road 1-0 to earn a trip to provincials.
Third-year defender Hailey Martin led Algonquin with four goals during the regular season. Contrast this with Fanshawe's Jade Kovacevic, who set a new OCAA regular season record with 30 goals this season.
Paired with teammate Nicole Nielsen who scored 11 goals, the Falcons are the only team which had two players with double-digit goals during the regular season. Fanshawe is also one of two teams with a perfect regular season record heading into the championship, giving up just five goals against in 10 games.
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