The Gaels wrapped up the weekend at Richardson Stadium with a home-and-home series with the RMC Paladins. Queen’s came away with six points from two victories, a close 2-1 match on Saturday and a dominating 6-0 win on Sunday.
Head coach Dave McDowell said that the team’s been suffering from the wear-and-tear of the season, and nagging injuries have resulted in a diminished squad.
“We got terrific contributions from the whole depth of the squad,” he said. “So there was a lot of little injuries [that] we’re coming back from. I just said to them ‘thank goodness for our depth’. I don’t know how many other teams would … have as many players injured and still get results.”
Saturday’s game against the Paladins saw the Gaels compete in one of their closest battles of the season. Forward Jacqueline Tessier opened the scoring before midfielder Kayla Crnic scored the game winner near the end of the first half. RMC’s only goal came on a penalty kick.
“I thought the first 45 [minutes] was good,” McDowell said. “Then we started the second half well, then kind of took our foot off the pedal a little bit. Today was much better.”
The Gaels’ Sunday afternoon game closed out a season sweep of the Paladins. Forward Kelli Chamberlain had two goals. The Gaels went into the second half up 2-0 with goals from midfielders Alexis McKinty and Mary Kampman. Along with Chamberlain’s two goals, Tessier and defender Paula Wong also scored to finish off the
Paladins 6-0.
“I would say, quite honestly that our finishing could be better,” McDowell said. “I think we’re creating lots of chances and again, with the different line-ups we’ve had over the past week and a half with some injuries, the continuity’s been really good.”
The Gaels had a tough stretch in their season. McDowell said in addition to injuries, the team has also been dealing with a busy schedule.
“We’ve had a long stretch here where we’ve played Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday,” he said. “We’ve played more games than anyone else in the country by a long stretch.”
The Gaels are looking forward to their much needed break over the Thanksgiving weekend. Along with being first in the OUA East with a 10-1 record, the Gaels are ranked fifth in the CIS. Going into their final stretch, McDowell said he hopes the team will come back from the weekend with the energy to finish off their season strong.
“To get a little break at Thanksgiving where they get four or five days off, it’s going to be terrific,” he said. “Then come back for those last four games kind of mentally and physically reinvigorated after a pretty tough first month and a half.”
The Gaels will play the Gee-Gees Wednesday in Ottawa.
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