OSHAWA, Ont. – The Durham College men's soccer team punched their ticket to the CCAA national championship final after a convincing 2-0 win on Thursday evening at Vaso's Field against the Red Deer Kings.
By reaching the gold medal game, the Lords will secure their first CCAA national medal since 1999 when the team captured bronze.
Joshua Lee (Ajax, Ont.) had the opening chance of the game for the host Lords in the 17th minute when he made a nice run through the middle of the field, but his effort rung off the post. Durham continued to press, doing well to pin Red Deer back into their own half, but were finding it hard to break them down.
DC were able to eventually solve the Kings defence though opening the scoring on the stroke of halftime when
Jose Flores (Ajax, Ont.), who came into the starting lineup in the national semifinal, saw his free kick slip through the hand of Red Deer goalkeeper Jacob Hamilton, handing Durham a 1-0 lead heading into the break.
Durham secured another good chance in the opening minute of the second half when
Marcellus Paul (Courtice, Ont.) cut the ball back to 2019 OCAA all-star
LeRohne Young (Oshawa, Ont.), but his effort was saved by Hamilton on this occasion.
Just two minutes later the Lords found their insurance goal when Lee received the ball at the top of the box before his right-footed shot curled into the top right corner to make it 2-0. The host Lords then stood firm at the back as Red Deer looked to find their way back into the game late, but were shut down by the Durham defence at every opportunity.
Durham defence
Tyreik Bryan (Pickering, Ont.) picked up the 4imprint Player of the Game award, while Turner Johnson received the honour for Red Deer.
The Lords will now have a date with the VIU Mariners of British Columbia on Saturday. Kick-off for the gold medal match between the OCAA and PACWEST competitors is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at Vaso's Field. Live stats and webcast is also available for every match of the national championship tournament via
ccaa.ca.
Overall Record: 12-3-1 (W-L-D)
Conference Record: 7-1-0
Next match: Saturday, Nov. 9 vs. VIU Mariners • (4:30 p.m. - CCAA Championship Final - Vaso's Field)
For all your Durham Lords updates make sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
