HIGH ACHIEVERS: Undefeated Ontario-champion Gloucester Celtic eyeing third Canadian men’s amateur soccer title

By Martin Cleary

The Gloucester Celtic men’s soccer team has achieved remarkable success over the past four months.

· The 26-year-old squad that resides within the Ottawa Gloucester Hornets Soccer Club umbrella placed first in the Ottawa-Carleton Soccer League’s Men’s Premier division with 13 wins and one tie.

· For the seventh time in the past 13 years, Celtic won the Ottawa Cup, sweeping its three playoff games. Celtic also lifted the Bob Rathwell Cup in 2022, 2018, 2017, 2015, 2013 and 2012.

· Last Sunday, Celtic extended its undefeated season to 22 games by powering its way to a fifth Ontario Cup men’s championship in Vaughan.

Despite its summer of unblemished success, there’s more soccer to come, and, potentially, another championship and as many as five more victories.

By winning the Ontario Cup, which it previously accomplished in 2022, 2021, 2016 and 2013, Celtic will represent the province at the 10-team men’s Toyota National Championships at Newton Athletic Park in Vancouver. Celtic will be aiming for its third Canadian title, after winning in 2013 and 2022 and taking the bronze in 2016. The COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the 2021 nationals and prevented Celtic from another title run.

While coaches Phil Sangster and Loui Legakis will put 17 players through their practice sessions over the next month, Celtic manager and former head coach Matt Williams is focused on raising $30,000 to cover the cost of plane tickets to and from Vancouver as well as hotel accommodations.

Williams, who started the Celtic men’s team as a Division D entry in 1999 and has made them a Men’s Premier Division powerhouse, is familiar with how to raise funds quickly as he has done this three times previous.

Confident he can raise $30,000 to send Celtic out west, Williams plans to connect with the club’s more than 100 alumni, team sponsors and stage an indoor golf event at The Bunker, which he owns on Bank Street.

Travelling is nothing new for Celtic. For the Ontario Cup, the 2023 semi-finalists drove to Toronto (twice) and Niagara Falls for preliminary-round and quarter-final games as well as London for the semi-final. Celtic didn’t have the luxury of a single home contest for the summer-long Ontario Cup tournament.

After defeating Niagara Falls SC PSL Titans 4-1 and Woodbridge Strikers 6-1, Celtic shut out Panathinaikos Toronto FC 2-0 in the quarters. In its semi, Celtic outscored Jagiellonia London 9-2.

Averaging more than five goals a game in its first four Ontario Cup games, Celtic went one better in the championship game by posting a 6-1 decision over Scarborough G.S. United, which also qualified for the Canadian championships.

“The team was focused. Once the game started, they all bought in,” said Williams, who along with coaches Sangster and Legakis had a difficult time selecting its starting 11 from the talent-deep roster.

But after Celtic bolted into a 3-0 advantage by halftime, Williams, Sangster and Legakis made seven substitutes for the second half to get everyone into the game. Since he started the team in 1999, Williams’ philosophy has always been to have every player take the field in a game.

Zachary El-Shafei and Javane Henry, two of four players who switched to Celtic after helping West Ottawa win the men’s national and provincial titles in 2023, made significant contributions on offence in the final by scoring two goals each.

El-Shafei, who scored 10 goals in Ottawa-Carleton league and Ottawa Cup play, counted the first two goals for Celtic against Scarborough by the 15-minute mark. Henry lifted Celtic’s lead to 4-0 with goals at the 33rd and 65th minute.

Bezick Evraire, who was Celtic’s leading goal scorer with 14 in league and Ottawa Cup play, and Zackary Tremblay completed the scoring.

Evraire, the nephew of former CFL player Ken Evraire, and Joey Kewin have played on all five Ontario Cup championship teams for Celtic.

“It’s unbelievable,” Williams said about Celtic winning its fifth provincial team title and extending its unbeaten streak to 22 games. “Once we got a couple of goals, the guys looked at each other and said it’s going to be tough for them to come back. I’m proud of this group. They’re a good crew.

“You tell them they’re not (starting) and they take it well. They support each other. There are no egos.

“They came out hard and they could because they knew they were coming off. Then, we bring on fresh legs. We run with 18 guys, while most teams use 13-14.”

Williams has built a solid and efficient soccer program, which also includes a reserve team and a men’s over-35 team. When players on the Men’s Premier squad are injured or on vacation, he calls up players from the reserve squad and they more than adequately fill in.

By winning the Ontario Cup last Sunday, Celtic continued to show the strength of men’s amateur soccer in Ottawa. For the last five Ontario Cup men’s tournaments, an Ottawa team has emerged as the champion – St. Anthony’s in 2019, Celtic in 2021 and 2022, and West Ottawa Warriors in 2023. There was no Ontario Cup in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since 2013, Ottawa teams have won the Ontario Cup six times in eight years and seven times in 11 years.

“This season, to be honest, I think we were going in as the favourite,” Williams added. “We won in 2022 and 2021 and were barely beaten in the semi-finals in 2023.”

Celtic strengthened its 2024 roster with the addition of El-Shafei, Henry, Marco Natoli and Anton Favre from West Ottawa as well as Justin Earle and Dila Dicko-Raynaud from semi-pro soccer.

What also makes Celtic and other Ottawa teams strong is many of the best amateur players stay at home.

There are many Toronto and GTA teams in the semi-pro League1 Ontario, while Ottawa is represented by only one team.

When Celtic reaches the Canadian championship in Vancouver, it will be considered one of the medal favourites based on its current record of 21 wins and one tie as well as its past history as the 2022 and 2023 national champion and 2016 bronze medallist.

As it strives for another national title, can Celtic also keep its undefeated streak alive?

Celtic is scheduled to play four round-robin games at nationals – Whitehorse Yukon Selects, Oct. 9; Coquitlam, B.C., Metro-Ford S.C., Oct. 10; Vancouver United F.C., Oct. 11; and Edmonton Scottish, Oct. 12 – and one playoff classification game to determine its final ranking on Oct. 14.

“It (undefeated season) definitely has been unexpected,” Williams added. “We have some very good teams in our own league.

“When we have players on vacation or are injured, we lean on our reserve team. They are players who could play in the Men’s Premier division, but they choose to play a role. That’s a huge success factor for us. We are never short.”