Ontario Champions Durham College (Oshawa, ON) exploded for five unanswered goals in the second half to defeat Capilano College (North Vancouver, BC) 5-1 on Saturday morning to win the national bronze medal at the 2007 Big Kahuna/adidas Canadian Colleges Athletic Association (CCAA) Men’s and Women’s Soccer Championships in Halifax, Nova Scotia. On the men’s side, Algonquin College’s (Ottawa, ON) chance at winning their second consecutive national gold medal was put on hold as the game was cancelled due to snow.

The women’s bronze medal game was played under tough conditions with the game time temperature at -2 Celsius, with cold Atlantic winds circling the pitch.

The number one ranked Capilano Blues took an early 1-0 advantage over the Lords as they scored at the 11 minute mark. A Blues’ pass from the corner of the pitch eluded the Durham defenders and found a wide open Capilano player who deposited the early strike.

Durham goalkeeper Ashley Visser (Uxbridge, ON) was not fazed by the early Capilano marker as she made some terrific saves to keep the Lords within one goal after one half of play.

The Lords managed to bounce back in the second half as Jennifer Michalicka (Pickering, ON) scored in the 58th minute to level the teams at one.

Building off the momentum of their first goal, Durham turned up the offensive pressure and took their first lead of the game when Amanda Durno (Oshawa, ON) drove the ball into the back of the net off a deflection to make it 2-1.

The floodgates opened at the point as Nikki Tuck (Toronto, ON), Brittany Micucci (Newmarket, ON) and Kirsten Bodashefsky (Oshawa, ON) all scored within six minutes of one another giving the Lords the 5-1 to close out the game and to win the national bronze medal.

After going 2-1 at the Championship, the Lord’s bring home Durham College’s first national medal in women’s soccer. It is also only Ontario’s second medal at the women’s soccer national championship, with Humber College (Etobicoke, ON) winning the other taking home bronze in 2000.

Durham Athletic Director Ken Babcock was thrilled with the entire national championship, “I am so proud of our entire team bringing home a national medal for Ontario! It was a great experience for our student-athletes and hats off to Mount Saint Vincent University and their host committee for staging the Championships and providing such wonderful assistance and hospitality.”

Durham advanced to the bronze medal game after posting a 1-1 record in round robin play. The Lords shutout the host Mount Saint Vincent University (Halifax, NS) 3-0 in their opening match but then fell 4-2 to the Quebec Champions F.X. Garneau (Quebec City, PQ).

F.X. Garneau went on the win the national title defeating Mount Royal College (Calgary, AB) 2-0 in the gold medal game.

Overall, it was a great season for the Durham Lords which saw them win their second consecutive OCAA Championship, their first ever national medal and to hold their opponents scoreless for over twelve games.

The Championship All-Stars and major award winners were be announced at the closing ceremonies ater the conclusion of the championship:

WOMEN'S ALL-STAR TEAM

Sarah Boultan (#9) – Capilano College (North Vancouver, B.C.)
Kristen Bodashefsky (#5) – Durham College (Oshawa, Ont.)
Amanda Durno (#9) – Durham College (Oshawa, Ont.)
Katie Szeghalmi (#11) – Durham College (Oshawa, Ont.)
Ashley Dixon (#3) - Mount Royal College (Calgary, Alta.)
Kim Nielsen (#5) - Mount Royal College (Calgary, Alta.)
Corrine Guichon (#7) - Mount Royal College (Calgary, Alta.)
Carolyne Nellis (#6) - Collège François-Xavier-Garneau (Québec, Que.)
Gabrielle Verret (#13) - Collège François-Xavier-Garneau (Québec, Que.)

Top Goalkeeper: Elena Waldispuelh - College François-Xavier-Garneau (Québec, Que.)
Tournament MVP: Catherine Emond - College François-Xavier-Garneau (Québec, Que.)

For more information, including the latest news, results and developments within the 2007 CCAA Women’s Soccer Nationals, please visit the official championship website: www.msvu.ca/soccernationals/.


WOMEN’S SOCCER CCAA CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS

Round Robin
Durham defeated MSVU 3-0
F.X. Garneau defeated Durham 4-2

Medal Round
Bronze Medal Game: Durham defeated Capilano 5-1

Participating Teams
Capilano College – North Vancouver, BC
Collège François-Xavier-Garneau (F.X. Garneau) – Québec, PQ
Durham College – Oshawa, ON
Mount Royal College – Calgary, AB
Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU) – Halifax, NS
University of King’s College (UKC) – Halifax, NS


DURHAM LORDS ROSTER

Ashley Visser - GK (Uxbridge)
Courtney Collicott - FB (Ajax)
Sarah Tice - D (Niagara Falls)
Megan Durno - D (Oshawa)
Kirsten Bodashefsky - M (Oshawa)
Katie Szeghalmi - CM/F (Oshawa)
Jennifer Michalicka - CM/F (Pickering)
Amanda Durno - F (Oshawa)
Brittany Micucci - SK (Newmarket)
Jen Lecourt - M/F (Peterborough)
Jodi Den Bok - M (Ajax)
Amanda Irwin - M/F (Barrie)
Misty Mischtian - SW/D (Oshawa)
Brittany Feher - SW/D (Ajax)
Abbie Visser - D (Uxbridge)
Krista Metcalf - D (Newmarket)
Sandra Bower - M (Etobicoke)
Julia Earle - M (Brockville)
Nikki Tuck - D (Toronto)

Coaching Staff:
Head Coach: Vaso Vujanovic
Assistant Coach: Lori Ferren
Assistant Coach: Anthony Whitney
Goalkeeper Coach: Vasco Jeronimo
Athletic Director: Ken Babcock


DURHAM LORDS 2007 RESULTS

Regular Season
@ Fleming W 3-0
@ La Cite W 6-0
@ Algonquin W 1-0
vs. St. Lawrence W 8-0
vs. Centennial W 5-0
@ Seneca W 4-0
vs. Cambrian W 6-0
vs. Loyalist W 9-0

Qualifying Match
vs. St. Clair W 2-0

OCAA Championship (Hosted by Algonquin College)
vs. Fanshawe W 3-0 (Semi-Final)
vs. Humber W 2-0 (Gold Medal Game)

CCAA Championship (Hosted by Mount Saint Vincent University)
vs. Mount Saint Vincent W 3-0 (Round Robin)
vs. F.X. Garneau L 4-2 (Round Robin)
vs. Capilano W 5-1 (Bronze Medal Game

The OCAA governs intercollegiate sports and promotes physical activity in its member institutions through quality athletic and campus recreation programs. It offers 15 varsity sports to 30 member institutions throughout Ontario. For more information on the OCAA visit www.ocaa.com.