PETERBOROUGH, Ont. – The Durham College men's soccer team opened the OCAA championship on Thursday with a 2-1 victory over the Fanshawe Falcons.
 
In the first game of the championship hosted by Fleming College, the two teams were tied 0-0 at halftime, but early in the second half the Lords were able to open the scoring.
 
Austin Macdonell (Pickering, Ont.) scored in the 49^th minute, only his second of the year, but it was major one as it seemed to get momentum on the Lords side, at least momentarily.
 
"We started slow in the first half obviously, but in the second half once we got that goal I felt we really picked it up and performed the way we should've started," said Lords captain Bruce Cullen.
 
The Falcons made good on their own opportunity in the 51st minute, as Bai-Essa Coker beat Lords goalkeeper Dylan Yeo (Newmarket, Ont.) to tie the game 1-1.
 
With momentum starting to even out again, both teams were getting opportunities, but it was Ryan Cullen (Pickering, Ont.) who finished on his to put Durham College ahead 2-1.
 
This was the midfielder's third goal of the season and would eventually stand as his second game-winning goal.
 
"I'm very proud of our team today," said head coach Dave Ashfield. "We have been resilient all year and today was another example of the quality our Lords team has had this season. It was a great performance by everyone led by Bruce (Cullen) and Nick (Axhorn)."
 
The Lords victory at the championship is the first in almost 20 years as Durham College has not won at the OCAA championship, which was a final four format until 2015, since the Lords won 6-3 on Oct. 30, 1999 to claim the bronze medal over Conestoga.
 
Durham's victory puts them in a semifinal on Friday at 3 p.m. against the Niagara Knights, who defeated the George Brown Huskies 3-2 in their quarter-final on Thursday morning.
 
QUICK LOOK AT THE LORDS
Overall Record: 10-5-2
Conference Record: 6-3-1

Next Game: Friday, Oct. 27 vs. Niagara Knights (3 PM @ 2017 Belairdirect OCAA Men's Soccer Championship)