‘Calma’ a rallying cry for OPDL-champion Ottawa South United soccer sides

By Dan Plouffe

“Calma.”

It was the message inscribed at the top of the Ontario Player Development League east division-champion Ottawa South United Force under-14 boys’ triumphant T-shirts – part inside joke, part cornerstone philosophy.

And it’s certainly an adage that applies to OSU’s U14 girls’ team too. While many teams are desperately scratching and clawing to earn points to win titles or make it to the post-season playoffs, the Force U14 girls have got to enjoy a chill final few weeks of their OPDL season after clinching their east and overall league championships several matches earlier.

The Force girls have blasted their competition en route to an undefeated record of 15 wins and one tie. They’ve earned clean sheets in half their games and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 63 goals.

“We’re really hard-working. We fight till the end,” underlines leading scorer Zeina Zibara. “We put the effort in, and that’s all that counts.”

Like her team, Zibara has been totally dominant in topping her division’s OPDL goal-scoring standings. Inspired by her older brother to take up soccer five years ago, Zibara has scored a league-best 28 times this season – 10 more than anyone else.

That’s the biggest gap in any OPDL scoring race across all age groups except for U17 boys, where OSU’s Reinaldo Abraham also has a 10-goal gap over second place with his eye-popping total of 33.

“I’m really happy. I had a pretty good last season, but I always aim for higher,” signals Zibara, noting the atmosphere at OSU has fuelled her success. “I love it so much. It’s the best experience.”

Following back-to-back championship seasons with one loss in U14 girls’ play, this is now the second year in a row that OSU has posted an unbeaten mark in the U14 age group. The Force boys went undefeated to win the OPDL’s U14 division in 2023, and then followed that up with a historic national U15 boys’ title earlier this summer.

Read More: ‘No better ending’ than a historic national title for OSU Force, with some players departing to pro soccer academies

With their division crown, the OSU U14 girls have now earned the opportunity to play for a Canadian Player Development Program Championship next summer as well.

“It obviously pushes us to be like them, but as a team, we’ve always wanted to win nationals too,” Zibara highlights.

It’s a similar story for OSU’s U14 boys. The team has its own identity, but “Let’s go to nationals” was the other key message painted on the front of their T-shirts, and there is no doubt they’d like to bring home a repeat national crown at the U15 level.

“We like the challenges, and we want to use all this success to push us to be better every day,” indicates Force U14 boys’ head coach Mohandi Mulay. “We don’t like to compare. We use it as motivation to push us, but at the same time, we have focus on ourselves. And I will say that the best is still coming for these boys.”

In some ways, U14 is the most significant OPDL title a club can win. The youngest division where scores are tracked mostly features players who have grown up with their clubs, while top players often advance to professional academies or national development centres in older age groups.

It’s great to have success at all levels, but winning at a young age can set the tone and inspire future aspirations, notes Mulay, who also coaches OSU’s U13 OPDL boys (whose results aren’t tabulated, although those who watch their games will know that they’re undefeated too).

“We are so happy. It’s not only about winning. It’s about how they win – playing as a team, working together and playing really, really good football,” explains Mulay, whose U14 team had 18 different players score goals this season. “In Spain, we say when the base is strong, the house is going to be strong. We feel that the future is very bright.”

Mulay passes credit on to the coaches who worked with his current players earlier in their careers, noting it’s their efforts that are now bearing fruit. There was no need for Mulay to try to drive the group’s competitiveness – that desire to push forward was already instilled.

One ingredient he tried to add to the recipe was a little extra pinch of “calma.”

“We’ve told them many times: ‘Play with personality. Be brave.’ We know they are going to make mistakes and we can accept those mistakes. We want them to be brave enough to try,” he outlines. “And when we say, ‘Calma,’ it means, ‘keep calm and play that way, even when the pressure is high.’”

“Calma” also gives a little nod to the team coach’s roots. Mulay has improved his English considerably since he joined OSU two years ago after coaching high-level youth soccer in Seville, but he often defaults to his native Spanish when he wants to get the group’s attention and deliver an important message, calling “calma, calma, calma” (which translates quite easily to “calm”).

Mulay also gives thanks to OSU club leaders for providing him the opportunity to coach in Canada, where he’s been impressed to see how soccer is developing.

“The experience has been great. I love this country. I especially love the multicultural community that we have,” he reflects, noting that in Spain, his team only had one player from a different cultural background. “I love the message that this gives for soccer.”

As the OSU U14 boys officially clinched their division title with a comfortable 5-0 victory on Sept. 29 at George Nelms Sports Park, the team celebrated with festive Latin music playing, which has become a team tradition on Fridays to mark the end of their week of training.

“We finish with a good environment, with good energy,” recounts Mulay, who also speaks Arabic. “For us, the chemistry of the team is so important, and I think this is the result. It’s great to see everybody here enjoying a happy song together.”

Strong season for many local OPDL squads

There has been plenty of sweet singing for local soccer sides this season, with many savouring successful campaigns.

Next in the OPDL U14 boys’ east division standings behind OSU was Ottawa TFC with a solid record of 12 wins, three losses and two ties.

The Ottawa TFC U14 girls also have a chance to finish second behind OSU in their east division standings. They need only a win over last-place Whitby on Saturday to secure their place in the four-team OPDL Charity Shield post-season playoff competition, which features single-match semi-final and championship games later this month.

On top of the two U14 titles already in the bag, OSU could add up to three more OPDL crowns this coming weekend.

The Force U16 girls (who are 7-1 in premier division play) are in control of their own destiny as they get set to face Pickering on the road Sunday in a showdown for top spot. Following a frustrating 1-0 home-field loss to Hamilton United Elite last weekend, OSU trails Pickering by one point and will need a win to leapfrog into first.

Currently three points back of Vaughan with a game in hand, and level with Woodbridge, the national-champion Force U15 boys’ squad will likely need back-to-back victories over Sigma and Hamilton on their home field Saturday and Sunday to repeat as OPDL champs. At +13 presently, the goal differential equation looks friendly to OSU in the event of a tiebreaker.

Sitting one point back of Toronto High Park, the Force U17 boys will want to win their last game against lowly Burlington and get some help from fourth-place Aurora in their match against the league leaders in order to be crowned champs.

First place is out of their reach, but OSU and Ottawa TFC’s U17 girls both have playoff aspirations heading into their final games as well, carrying 4-1-3 and 4-3-1 records respectively.