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