While the 1990-91 OCAA men’s soccer season did not get off to a flying start, it certainly came back around for the Sheridan Bruins.
They got out to an early 1-0 lead in their opener against the defending OCAA and national champions from Mohawk when Christian McCann was able to head home a goal after a free kick from Andrew Loague.
But two converted penalty kicks from Mohawk later and the Double-Blue would start the season with a loss.
They rebounded to beat Redeemer 1-0 thanks to a goal from Manny Pinto, but nearly half way through their season they sat with a record of one win, two losses and one tie after a 2-2 draw against Fanshawe and a 3-1 loss to Conestoga.
That would be the last time they would suffer defeat to an OCAA team however, has back-to-back wins over George Brown in a four-day stretch – where they triumphed 3-1 and 4-0 – moved them up in the standings.
They followed that up with a 3-2 win over Conestoga before a re-match at home against Mohawk, where they tied 1-1.
They extended their unbeaten run to five games with a 2-0 win over Fanshawe and on the final day of the regular season they beat Redeemer 4-2 to post a 6-2-2 record, good for second place in the West Division.
Andrew Loague was second in league scoring with eight goals and along with Mike Collins was named an OCAA All-Star. Loague was also named an All-Canadian.
In the semi finals, they drew the Durham Lords – the team that knocked them from title contention the year prior – but two goals from Christian McCann and one each from Andrew Loague and Nando Prosciutto powered the Bruins to a 4-1 win and a spot in the championship match against Mohawk.
While Mohawk had clear championship experience on their side, it didn’t matter as the Double-Blue jumped all over them in the first half.
Though they failed to record a tally in the opening 45 minutes – Mohawk was lucky not to be down 3-0 – they would strike early in the second half and hold on to post a 1-0 win.
Colin Samuels was named the tournament’s MVP.
Two weeks later they travelled to Nova Scotia for the six-team national championship tournament.
With two groups of three, goal differential was going to be of paramount importance.
They opened with a scoreless draw against Mount Royal but had to play a second game that day against Nova Scotia Agricultural College.
They fell behind 1-0 but scored 12 unanswered goals – 5 from Andrew Loague and 4 from Christian McCann – to win 12-1.
McCann and Loague would both score again in a 2-1 win over Ahuntsic that gave the Double-Blue a spot in the national championship game against Capilano.
While they would lose 5-3 in that contest, their six-week unbeaten run was one of the most impressive stretches in Sheridan soccer history. Andrew Loague picked up yet another honour as a member of the Tournament All-Star team, as did Mike Collins.