Host Lords among teams advancing to semis
MATCH 4: Durham Lords 3, Douglas Royals 1
The Host Durham Lords advanced the CCAA Men’s Soccer Championship semi-final with a 3-1 win over the Douglas Royals.
Hosting the tournament for the first time since 1999, the Lords started strong with lots of pressure on the Royals. However it was Douglas opening the scoring in the 37th minute when a corner ball dropped to Quinn Desaulniers who calmly slotted the ball past Lords keeper Kevon Grant.
The start of the second half is when the goals started flowing for Durham. Nick Spittle got on the end of LeRohne Young’s cross and found the bottom right corner to level the game. Just a minute later Young got a goal of his own when he stayed onside at the back post to make it 2-1 in the 51st minute. Shortly after, substitute Eric Savvas initiated a counter attack down the right wing to Spittle, who crossed the ball to Paul at the back post who placed the ball into the bottom right corner to make it 3-1 for Durham.
Spittle was awarded the 4imprint Player of the Game for Durham, while Desaulniers earned the award for Douglas.
MATCH 3: Red Deer Kings 2*, Holland Hurricanes 1
The Red Deer Kings upset the Holland Hurricanes in a penalty shootout to reach the CCAA Men’s Soccer Championship semi-final.
Holland opened the scoring in the 16th minute when All-Canadian Alex Lourenso buried a shot in the bottom left corner. The Kings got their equalizer in the 56th minute when Pedro Neto’s shot rifled off the underside of the crossbar and Nathan Swartz followed up with the rebound. Despite some late pressure from Holland, the game headed to penalties.
From there, the Kings were perfect in the shootout winning 5-4 to reach the final four.
Pedro Neto was honoured as the 4imprint Player of the Game for Red Deer, while Kaito Yamamoto received the award for Holland.
MATCH 2: VIU Mariners 2, Lethbridge Kodiaks 1
VIU scored late on to get a 2-1 win against the Lethbridge Kodiaks to book a place in the CCAA Men’s Soccer Championship final four.
VIU had the stronger first half, outshooting the Kodiaks 3-1 at the break. The Mariners got the go-ahead goal in the 49th minute when Diego Corlazzoli lobbed a header over Kodiaks keeper Cody Ferguson into the top left corner. The Kodiaks tied the game up late when All-Canadian, Ben Knight, swung a ball into the box which Owen Beers finished in the 83rd minute. VIU would not be denied though as they replied with the eventual game-winning goal just four minutes later when Billy Bagiopoulos’ long-range strike found the back of the net.
Corlazzoli picked up the 4imprint Player of the Game award for VIU, while Brayden Jetten got the award for Lethbridge.
MATCH 1: Humber Hawks 4*, Ch. Saint-Lambert Cavliers 3
The CCAA defending champion Humber Hawks defeated the Champlain Cavaliers in a penalty shootout following a six-goal thriller.
The scoring started early when the Hawks Nicholas Machado made it 1-0 in the fifth minute. Seven minutes later Humber were able to get a second goal courtesy of Max Ferrari. The Cavaliers made it 2-1 in the 29th minute from a corner which took a slight deflection off a Humber player on its way in. Champlain evened things up following a scramble in front of the net which saw Junior Camara get on the end of it to make it 2-2.
Humber regained the lead in the 56th minute when Uday Arora found some space at the top of the box and placing a low shot in the bottom left corner. However, Champlain fought back once again in the 60th minute when Alex Torchon got on the end of a cross and his shot was too strong for the Hawks goalie to keep out.
The Cavaliers nearly pulled off the upset, but Humber keeper Nick Frenati made two crucial saves in penalty kicks, allowing Humber to claim a 3-1 shoutout win.
Frenati won 4imprint Player of the Game for the Hawks, while Hugo Dufresne picked up the award for Champlain.
--
*Note: Match decided by PKs
