Lords men’s soccer jumps to fourth in national rankings
Robert Baxter-Dennis (shown here against UOIT in the annual Campus Cup) and his fellow Durham Lords men’s soccer players are flying high, as the team is now ranked fourth in the nation. (Photo courtesy of Allan Fournier)
After beating the Algonquin Thunder for the first time in 17 years, the Durham College men’s soccer team have landed themselves in the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) national rankings.
Released by the CCAA last week, the Lords made their debut in the national rankings in the fourth position.
Ranked second in the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) polls,
Durham has a 1-0-0 record to start conference play and a 3-2-1 overall record.
“It’s nice to be recognized but the reality is we have played one game and have a long season ahead of us,” says Durham College head coach Dave Ashfield. “We still have a lot of work to do.”
“We are very proud of our men’s soccer program’s success early this season,” says Ken Babcock, director of athletics. “Since becoming head coach, Dave (Ashfield) has made our program an annual contender in the OCAA and CCAA. It is a good start to the year, but the team knows they will have to continue to work hard in order to achieve their year-end goals.”
Durham has been nationally ranked in three of the four seasons Ashfield has been head coach. Both times, the Lords reached as high as the 12th position with the team qualifying for their first OCAA final four appearance in 2014 for the first time since 1999. Last year, the Lords lost to Mohawk 3-2 in extra time in the round of 16.