ANCASTER, Ont. - Day 1 is in the books at the 2019 OCAA Women's Soccer Championship, hosted by Redeemer University College in Ancaster, Ont.

Wednesday's slate featured eight teams battling in four do-or-die quarter-finals for the chance to advance to Friday's semifinals.

The No. 1 nationally-ranked Fanshawe Falcons advanced to the semis after defeating the Niagara Knights 2-0 in the first quarter-final of the day. The Falcons victory was fueled by OCAA's leading scorer, Jade Kovacevic, who netted both goals for Fanshawe.

Kovacevic scored her first just before half in the 42nd minute. She added her second in the 68th. Breanne Carreiro recorded the shutout for the Falcons.

The player of the games in the match was Taylor Major for the Niagara Knights and Kovacevic for the Fanshawe Falcons.

The Falcons will square off against the Sheridan Bruins in Friday's first semifinal. The Bruins narrowly held off the East Division's Algonquin Thunder. Sheridan earned their way to Day 2 with a 1-0 defeat of the Thunder.

Laura Ozoria scored the game-winner for the Bruins midway through the second half in the 60th minute. Savanna Wood stop everything she faced for the shutout.

The goalscorer was the player of the game for the Bruins while Hailey Martin took home the honors for the Algonquin Thunder.

In the third quarter-final, the championship host, Redeemer Royals, held off the undefeated Seneca Sting for as long as they could but eventually fell 4-0. The Sting erupted for four second-half goals to book their ticket to Friday as the East's No. 1 seed.

Carly Uddenberg did most of the damage for the Sting, scoring a hat-trick in the win. Uddenberg netted goals in the 59th, 64th and 88th minutes. Faith Metcalfe-Simiana finished off the scoring in the 91st minute. Raven Edward-Dowdall collected the clean sheet for the Sting.

Uddenberg's three goals earned her the player of the game for the Sting while Alisa van Veen was named the top player for the Royals.

In the final quarter-final of the day, Humber scored in the first half on a free kick to set the Hawks up for the rest of the match. Claudia Piazza opened the scoring in the 37th minute.

Humber's goalkeeper Vanessa Fiore shut the door on the Lords in the second half, keeping them off the scoresheet. Rebecca Spratt and Breanna Senfner put the game away for the Hawks with goals in the 68th and 78th minutes in a 3-0 win over Durham.

The player of the game for the Lords was goalkeeper Kerrington Steed while Spratt took home the honors for the Hawks.

Friday's semifinals get underway at noon and will feature the Fanshawe Falcons and Sheridan Bruins to start the day. The second semi kicks off at 3 p.m. with the Seneca Sting and Humber Hawks set to do battle.

Up for grabs on Friday will be a berth in the OCAA championship game as well as a spot in the 2019 CCAA national championship. The OCAA holds a wildcard spot for the national championship, meaning both OCAA finalists will advance.

You can follow along with the Championship at ocaa.com/wsoc and watch the games streamed at ocaa.com/ocaalive.

Source: Redeemer Royals

Championship Website: www.ocaa.com/wsoc

Live Webcast: www.ocaa.com/ocaalive

Wednesday, October 23
Quarter-Finals
Game #1: Fanshawe def. Niagara 2-0
Game #2: Sheridan def. Algonquin 1-0
Game #3: Seneca def. Redeemer 4-0
Game #4: Humber def. Durham 3-0

Friday, October 25
Semi-Finals
Game #5: Fanshawe vs. Sheridan - 12 p.m.
Game #6: Seneca vs. Humber - 3 p.m.

Saturday, October 26
Bronze Medal Match
Game #7: Loser Game #5 vs. Loser Game #6 - 12 p.m.
Winning team presented OCAA Bronze Medal at conclusion of match

Gold Medal Match
Game #8: Winner Game #5 vs. Winner Game #6 - 3 p.m.
OCAA Gold and Silver Medals presented at conclusion of match

- OCAA -

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