Durham College Athletics

The 1987-88 Durham College men’s soccer team, led by head coach Vaso Vujanovic and assistant coach Mike Lamers, became the first men’s varsity team to capture a national medal in school history as they defeated Vancouver College 2-1 in the CCAA national bronze medal game in Montreal; a remarkable achievement by this exceptional team. The team went 6-1-1 placing first in the OCAA east division, scoring 23 goals while only allowing seven. The Lords were led by Ron DiDanielli who led the east in scoring with eight goals and Charles Brand who scored six. Brand and defender Mauro Ciampa were named OCAA All-Stars during the regular season. The team would advance to the OCAA provincial championship, beating Mohawk College 2-0 in their opening game of the FINAL FOUR and advancing to the gold medal game. An exciting matchup would take place against archrival Seneca College in that final game. The final score was 1-0 in favour of Seneca after a hard fought battle on the field.

With a silver medal performance in the books, Durham claimed a spot at the CCAA national championship. The Lords would go 2-1 in national pool play including a thrilling 4-2 overtime win over Vanier College from Quebec. Rob Sabadin scored in the last minute of regulation to tie the game up; Kamal Chakal would score two and Billy Blake one in OT. Chakal and Nick Moschella were named CCAA All-Canadians. The team was welcomed back enthusiastically to the campus with a special pep rally organized to celebrate the tremendous accomplishments of all players involved with this soccer team. The 1987-88 men’s soccer team are forever national bronze medalists and are now to be honoured in the Durham College Sports Hall of Fame.

TEAM MEMBERS Vaso Vujanovic (Head Coach) Mike Lamers (Assistant Coach) Mike Vieira Andreas Jakob Gino Ciulla Steve Smith Carlo Braccia Mauro Ciampa Dave Munro Jeff Creary Nick Moschella Ron DiDanieli Charles Brand Ike Altenstad Rob Sabadin Mike Carney Billy Blake Allan Hall Kamal Chakal Phil Burnet