Sting Claim National Championship

The Seneca Sting Women's Soccer team is CCAA National Champions.

Words which had never been spoken prior will live on forever as the Sting defeated the Dynamiques de Sainte-Foy 1-0 to claim the first women's soccer national championship in Seneca's history.

Emma Gattoni broke a scoreless match in the 73rd minute to score the lone goal. Jordan Burke struck a long kick from the centre circle which settled near the Sainte-Foy goal. Gattoni outjumped the competition and headed the ball off the post. Undeterred, Gattoni collected the rebound and struck a shot past the Dynamiques goaltender.

Gattoni was named Player of the Game while Christina Diaco recorded the shutout.

Yoana Peralta was named Most Valuable Player for the championship while Jordan Burke, Jessica Shears and Rebekah Lee were named to the Championship All-Star team.

After suffering their first regular season loss in five years, the Sting completed a dominant run to the championship which saw the team outscore their opponents 5-0 at the CCAA Championship, 12-1 including the OCAA Championship and 29-1 in post-season play. On the season, the Sting outscored their opponents 114-6 including a Sting record 25 goals by Shanice Alfred.

The championship represents a decade of dominance by the Sting, starting with the 2013 season as the team has compiled a regular season record of 84-11-8 and has reached a medal game at the OCAA Championship in each season.

Ironically, it was Gattoni who scored the championship winning goal in 2014, the Sting's lone championship during the run until this season. Four OCAA silver medals and a CCAA bronze medal were achieved, but a national championship eluded the Sting until this season.

With a roster full of saavy veterans looking to put an exclamation on their Sting legacy and a number of talented newcomers, the Sting found the perfect blend of talent and leadership. At the helm, head coach Luca Sirianni put himself in the conversation as one of the best (and most-decorated) coaches in the CCAA, regardless of sport.

For some teams, the build to a championship happens in a couple years, but the fall often proceeds the rise. For coach Sirianni, the coaches and players, the journey has maybe taken a couple more years than hoped for, but given their track record of success, this Sting team is well equipped to make this celebration an annual occurrence.