OAKVILLE, Ont. - The underdog ruled the first day of the 2014 Sheridan Student Union CCAA Men's Soccer National Championship, as three of the four lower seeds claimed victory in the quarter-final round.

Match 1: Algonquin 7, Keyano 0

The No. 1 team in the nation, the Algonquin Thunder, opened the 2014 Sheridan Student Union CCAA Men's Soccer National Championship with a seven goal outburst to defeat the Keyano Huskies 7-0.

Algonquin had a small but feisty travelling contingent on hand to support them, singing loudly just before kick off and the support seemed to spur Algonquin on right from the start.

They opened the scoring within the first two minutes of the game and kept applying pressure on the Huskies backline, with Keyano pinned back in their own zone for much of the first half.

Although the Huskies were repelling wave after wave of Thunder pressure the play came to a head in the first half, five minutes from time. A beautiful pass led to a breakaway for the Thunder, only to have a collision between the Algonquin forward and the Huskie goalkeeper, Luke Arthur.

Although Algonquin kept applying pressure they were only up by one goal going into the final five minutes of the first half. That was to change in the 44th minute when the Thunder were awarded a penalty for a hard tackle in the box by the Huskies. Abe Kamara stepped up to the spot and calmly slotted the ball into the left hand corner to make it 2-0 Thunder, just before half-time.

The Thunder would add five more goals in the second half - four from the boots of Kishoyian Kipusi - was named player of the for his squad, while goal keeper Luke Arthur earned the nod for Keyano.

Match 2: VIU 1, Holland 0

Timely goaltending and a 59th-minute marker from Victor Blasco lifted the Vancouver Island University (VIU) Mariners to victory Wednesday, in opening-round action of the 2014 Sheridan Student Union CCAA Men's National Soccer Championship.

The fifth-seeded Mariners did just enough to hold on and upset fourth-ranked Holland Hurricanes 1-0 and advance to the semi-final round.

The Mariners dominated offensive touches the entire game, but were only able to find the back of the net once, as 'Canes goalkeeper Steve Corkum kept his team in the competition.

Likewise, VIU keeper Scott Brown stopped a number of shots late, including a flurry saves in the 81st minute to keep his shut out intact and seal the win for his team. Brown's performance was to be expected, as he led the PACWEST conference in the regular season with a 0.92 goals against average in 13 appearances. For his part, Blasco led the conference with 12 goals in 13 games. He was a player of the year candidate, and was named a CCAA All-Canadian.

Match 3: Garneau 6, NAIT 0

The sixth-seeded CEGEP Garneau Elans upset the third-seeded NAIT Ooks in the third match of the 2014 Sheridan Student Union CCAA Men's Soccer National Championship with a final score of 6-0.

The CEGEP from Quebec bombarded Edmonton's NAIT with creative counterattacks and opened up the scoring in the first half with Philippe Renaud's header in the 37th minute.

Once the second half began, so did the onslaught of goals. Garneau netted a quick one in the 47th minute with a redirection from a low cross inside the 18-yard box that had NAIT's goalkeeper handcuffed.

Goals in the 57th, 66th, 76th and 88th minutes – including a hat trick by forward Alexandre Larkin – sealed the win for the Elans, and a semi-final berth.

NAIT increased their offensive pressure from the 70th minute to the final whistle, with their intensity growing as they aggressively attacked the ball, but it wasn't enough to climb out of the five-goal deficit they found themselves in.

Players of the game were NAIT's Jahmed Mayes and Garneau's Philippe Renaud.

Match 4: Sheridan 3, Douglas 0

In an atmosphere throbbing with excitement, the seventh-seeded host team Sheridan College defeated second-seeded Douglas College 3-0 in a thriller to cap the first day of play at the 2014 Sheridan Student Union CCAA Men's Soccer National Championship.

The game started slowly, with a goalless first half that saw only a few real chances on net for both teams. Ball movement between the squads was exceptional, and both teams played as if it was no tomorrow.

The second half saw a sharper Douglas attack, while Sheridan's play borderlined lackadaisical. Some sloppy ball movement and glaring giveaways allowed Douglas to push the pace of the game.

However, it was Sheridan who scored first off a penalty kick awarded after an aggressive tackle to Molham Babouli. David Velastegui stepped to the spot and blasted a goal past a diving Douglas goalkeeper.

In the 59th minute, Douglas was awarded a free kick a mere two feet from Sheridan's 18-yard box, but the attempt sailed over the bar.

The ensuing counterattack from Sheridan permitted a second goal by Raheem Edwards to secure a 2-0 lead over the favourites and the home crowd was electric.

Another goal in the 87th minute by Babouli sealed Sheridan's berth to the championship semi-final.

Players of the game included Douglas's Simrin Rattenpal as well as Sheridan's captain Velastegui.

Play on Day 2 will begin with a pair of bronze medal quarter-finals, as Keyano will take on Holland (10 a.m.), followed by NAIT vs. Douglas (12:30 p.m.).

The championship semi-finals will follow, with Algonquin and VIU squaring off at 3 p.m., followed by Sheridan against Garneau at 5:30 p.m.

Source: Sheridan College