NANAIMO, B.C. - The OCAA champion Durham Lords and silver medalist Algonquin Thunder made their way out west to Nanaimo, B.C., for the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association Men's Soccer National Championship.
Durham had the best result among Ontario teams, finishing in fifth place, while Algonquin placed seventh. It is the first time in six seasons that an OCAA team has not won the national championship.
PLACEMENT MATCH: Durham Lords 2, NAIT Ooks 1
The Durham Lords scored in stoppage time in the second half to claim fifth place at the CCAA Men's Soccer National Championship with a 2-1 victory over the NAIT Ooks.
Lerenz Griffith played the hero on a great individual effort as he beat a couple of defenders and NAIT's keeper to find the corner of the net.
Earlier in the game, Andres Murillo Marragut fired a shot off a NAIT defender to open the scoring, before Nicholas Gomes finished off a great pass from Costouras to tie the game for the Ooks.
Francesco Marrazo was the NAIT Player of the Game making some phenomenal saves, while Murillo Marragut picked up the honours for the Lords.
PLACEMENT MATCH: Algonquin Thunder 2, Indiens d'Ahuntsic 1
The Algonquin Thunder took seventh place Saturday with a 2-1 win over the Indiens d'Ahuntsic in Nanaimo.
Lamine Diallo opened the scoring in the 34th minute for the Indiens with a great chip shot over the Algonquin keeper to make it 1-0.
In the second half, goals just four minutes apart from Ahmad Olleik and Frederico Leal gave the Thunder the edge.
Colin Gibson made numerous big saves for the Thunder as they thwarted the Indiens attack to pick up the win.
Players of the Game were Justin Gibson for the Thunder and Pierre Lamothe for the Indiens.
BRONZE MEDAL SEMI-FINAL: Keyano Huskies 2, Durham Lords 1
The Keyano Huskies will play for Bronze at the 2017 CCAA Men’s Soccer National Championship after a 2-1 victory over the Durham Lords Friday in Nanaimo.
The Huskies got on the board in the opening 20 minutes, after Ayman Hassen was taken down in the box. Harris Bajric calmly chipped the penalty kick into the middle of the net as Durham’s Trevor Stephens dove to the right corner.
Both keepers were focal points for long stretches of the game, as they traded key saves. Stephens and his defensive line-up cleared a multitude of chances away from the Huskies, while Josue Vargas turned away Durham’s efforts when tested.
The drama escalated further in the final moments when the Lords evened the game up in the 89th minute off a header from Kevin Thibodeau. The game looked destined for penalties, but the Huskies had other ideas. Carlos Gunner Kavidjima scored the game winner in stoppage time after racing past the Lords’ defence and beating Stephens who was sliding out to intercept the ball.
Players of the Game were Mahadi Abdi Mahadi for Keyano and Cody Kraemer for Durham.
BRONZE MEDAL QUARTER-FINAL: Holland Hurricanes 2, Algonquin Thunder 0
The Holland College Hurricanes moved on to the bronze semi-final with a 2-0 win over the Algonquin Thunder in Thursday's opening match at the 2017 CCAA Men's Soccer National Championship.
CCAA Player of the Year Ibrahima Sanoh set up the first goal and scored the other to give the Hurricanes the victory.
Sanoh's shot in the 65th minute was turned away by keeper Dylan Tessier, but the rebound went directly to Andrew Henry who made no mistake for the 1-0 lead.
Just 12 minutes later, Sanoh received a great pass from Theo Ngezahayo before hammering home a hard shot to increase the lead.
The Thunder continued to press late into the game, but Brandon Lund and his defenders picked up the clean sheet for the Hurricanes.
Players of the Game were Ibrahima Sanoh for Holland and Tessier for Algonquin.
BRONZE MEDAL QUARTER-FINAL: Durham Lords 4, Indiens d'Ahuntsic 2
The Durham Lords won the highest scoring game of the championship to date as they defeated the Indiens d'Ahuntsic 4-2 in a bronze quarter-final match.
Bruce Cullen dazzled the crowd and the defenders in the 14th minute as he made his way through a pair of players before spinning around the charging keeper. From there he left the ball and a wide open net for teammate Andres Murillo Marrugat to slide home the first goal.
Cullen wasn't done there, as he caught Tommy Brasseur off his line in the 33rd minute, sending a sailing 50-yard shot over the head of the Ahunstic keeper to widen the lead to two.
The teams then battled back and forth in an exciting sequence of action that saw the Lords and Indiens exchange a series of four goals. Thanks to some solid goal keeping from Durham's Dylan Yeo, Ahuntsic couldn't close the two goal deficit.
Players of the Game were Stephane Ahanda of Durham and Charles Auguste of Ahuntsic.
GOLD MEDAL QUARTER-FINAL: Douglas Royals 2*, Algonquin Thunder 1 (*4-2 PKs)
Two diving stops by Ryo Mizuno during penalty kicks led the Douglas Royals over the Algonquin Thunder in the second quarter-final match.
Douglas earned a free kick just outside the 18-yard box in the 65th minute, and Eric Ray opened the scoring with a laser to the top corner of Algonquin's net. The Thunder responded just eight minutes later when a Federico Leal free kick found the net over the out stretched hands of Mizuno.
Nothing else was solved in the 90 minutes, so the teams went to penalty kicks where they exchanged goals on the first four shots. But as the Royals kept scoring the Thunder were shut down by Mizuno. His two perfectly timed saves secured the win for the Royals and a berth to the semi-finals.
Players of the Game were Quinn Dawson for Douglas and Colin Gibson for Algonquin.
GOLD MEDAL QUARTER-FINAL: NAIT Ooks 4, Durham Lords 0
A natural hat-trick from Ali Musse highlighted a 4-0 shutout victory for the NAIT Ooks over the Durham Lords.
After a fairly even opening 45 minutes, NAIT captain Zach Kaiser got himself free and sent a fading shot to the top right corner of the net mere moments before the half-time whistle.
Early in the second half, Jacob Kwizera was taken down in the box, leading to the second penalty kick. Ali Musse stepped up and delivered for the Ooks, burying the ball in the left corner of the net.
Just four minutes later, Musse created an opportunity for himself, finishing off with a goal from a tight angle on the left side of the net.
The natural hat-trick was finished off in the 65th minute, as Musse got in behind the defense where his shot found the top right corner, locking up the 4-0 win.
Players of the Game were Musse for NAIT and Bruce Cullen for Durham.
Source: Vancouver Island University with files from OCAA Communications