37 years is a long time by any measure.
Just ask the Saints women's soccer team, which over the weekend snapped a streak by winning its first Ontario Collegiate Athletic Association gold medal since 1988.
The Saints women's soccer team is crowned the OCAA champs after defeating Centennial 4-1 for the gold medal on Oct. 26, 2025. (Source: Saints Athletics)
"It was a long time coming," said Saints women's soccer head coach Steve Vagnini. "It's something that we work every year towards, so when you fall short, or something doesn't go right, it's tough, because it takes another year to get there. Bronze and silver, they're great medals, but gold? There are no words to say how much that means."
The St. Clair College Saints won gold in dominating fashion, defeating the Centennial Colts 4-1 to capture the OCAA title - only the second gold medal in the team's history.
The Saints were hosting the OCAA Final Four Championship after finishing the regular season in first place in the OCAA West Division. St. Clair defeated Humber 2-1 in overtime in the semi-final on Saturday to set up the match up with the Colts.
The Saints wasted no time setting the tone in the final, opening the scoring just three minutes into the match. Sierra Lapos delivered a perfectly placed lob pass from 30 yards out to Natalie Kersey, who finished far side to give St. Clair an early 1-0 lead.
Thirty minutes later, Lapos again made her presence felt this time from a free kick. Her well-placed delivery into the box was headed in by Victoria Walsh, her 13th goal of the season, to double the lead. The play, however, came at a cost for Centennial, as the Colts' keeper was forced out of the game following a head-to-head collision with a teammate.
Despite the setback, the Colts maintained play in St. Clair's half for stretches of the second half but were unable to generate many dangerous scoring chances against the Saints' disciplined defensive structure.
St. Clair sealed the victory late in the match. In the 86th minute, Alessia Olivito unleashed a perfectly struck shot from 24 yards out to make it 3-0. Kersey added her second of the game in added time, shaking off a foul near the box before chipping a shot over the backup keeper to extend the lead to 4-0. Centennial managed to pull one back shortly after, but the Saints' scored a 4-1 win in a landmark moment for the St. Clair women's soccer program.
Vagnini reflected on the season and how the Saints came together with a common golden goal.
"I think it was attitude in the locker room. We exited the first-round last year, and it didn't sit well, so we changed the locker room," said Vagnini, who said players bought into the process.
During the final match, Victoria Walsh was named the St. Clair Player of the Game.
Brianna Kinsley-Clough won the Fairplay and Sportsmanship Award.
Walsh and Natalie Kersey were named Championship All Stars while Alessia Olivito was named Championship MVP.
But Vagnini praised the entire roster for coming together to execute at the right time.
"It goes 20 deep. Every player had an effect on everybody else," Coach Vagnini said.
The hard work isn't over: St. Clair advances to the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association National Championship Tournament in Red Deer, Alberta, starting Nov. 5.
"You're playing the cream of the crop. When we go to Nationals, nothing changes," Coach Vagnini said.
"We want to bring home hardware. It's all about the hardware."
