The Hawks women’s team went down by one at home just after halftime and could not bounce back against the Redeemer Royal on Oct.1.
A 47th-minute goal was all that divided these two teams.
Humber entered the matchup in second place and came out third in the Western Conference. Redeemer is now fourth in the conference with a game in hand.
The first half of the game was even on paper, with both teams having similar times on attack, shots and corners.
Hawks defender Doreen Anane-Bediakoh said Humber didn’t start the second half well, which set the tone for the remainder of the match.
“Off the kickoff, I feel like we were kind of on the back foot instead of being on the front foot of things,” she said.
Humber was put on the defensive after halftime. Redeemer had nine shots in the second half, compared to Humber’s four.
The Hawks kept a level head and tried to improve with the next play despite the tension, Anane-Bediakoh said.
The mass of time Humber spent in their defensive zone resulted in a goal-line clearance that roused the crowd.
Still, the away fans out-chanted the Humber faithful shortly after the game-winning goal was scored until the final whistle.
Head coach Jose Caro said the team defended well but needed to score a goal.
“You can defend as much as you can, but you got to put one in the back of the net to make sure that the nerves and the tension is a little bit less intense,” he said.
Caro said the team did not make the most out of their scoring opportunities, which cost them the match.
“It was just a few times in the final third, we couldn't capitalize on our chances. And when you wave that open for other teams to exploit, that’s typically what happens,” he said.
Humber took mostly long shots in the second half, having difficulty breaking through the Royals' defence.
Caro said the team needed more resilience after conceding the first goal.
“I think in the first half we looked much sharper, as the game went on and on…that’s when we started to die out,” he said.
Caro said he appreciates the losses coming now rather than playoffs, which gives his young team time to learn from their experiences.
Four of the girls who started the match are straight out of high school, he said. Ten of the 22 players on the roster are first-year students.
Humber has been ranked sixth across both conferences in the OCAA for the past two weeks.
Caro said this season's record of 4-2-2 is better than last season’s start of four straight losses. However, they did win the silver medal that season in the OCAA.
Both forwards, Audrey Benjamins from Redeemer and Chantel Spalla of Humber, got yellow cards during the game.
There are two more matches in the round robin before the seeding is determined, and the playoffs begin. Both coach and players said they hope to put this loss behind them, learn from their shortcomings and finish the season strong.
“(Hopefully) we kind of have a little more grit, more effort and intensity moving forward,” Anane-Bediakoh said.
The team prepares for their second-to-last match of the season against Conestoga on Wednesday, Oct. 8.
