The Queen’s Golden Gaels men’s and women’s soccer teams began their respective seasons solidly last weekend. Each team took home four points from their Southwestern Ontario road trip to Western and Windsor.
The women’s soccer team began the weekend on Saturday with a 1-1 draw against the Western Mustangs. The two teams met in last year’s OUA final, which Western won.
The Mustangs, who ranked first in the nation coming into the season, opened the scoring shortly before halftime with a goal by Carmel Pringle. They kept the 1-0 lead into the break.
Neither team was able to muster many quality scoring chances in hot weather at Western’s Brescia campus, said head coach Dave McDowell. However, the Gaels were able to break through in the 79th minute. Maia Lawson, who had been struggling recently with an injury, scored a solo marker to even up the score and send the Queen’s women home with a well-deserved point.
The heat was turned up on Sunday as the temperature skyrocketed for the Gaels’ battle with Windsor. The game quickly turned one-sided as Queen’s took a 2-0 lead within four minutes of the opening whistle with a pair of goals by Eilish McConville. McConville, a second-team All-Canadian last season, added two more goals before the end of the half, giving Queen’s a commanding 4-0 lead.
In the second half Kaley Robinson added a goal while McConville potted her fifth of the game. Queen’s won the game by a convincing six-goal margin.
Kate Chambers and Katie McKenna combined for the shutout. McConville was rewarded for her efforts by being named OUA Athlete of the Week on Monday.
Coach Dave McDowell said he was pleased with the women’s efforts over the weekend. He gave special praise to his substitutes, who were able to give the team a much needed boost in the hot and humid conditions. Terrific possession and great penetration by the defence were especially evident in the game against the Lancers, McDowell said. He added he wants his team to improve its strength in the air, especially with the departure of OUA first team All-Star Anna Singer in the off-season.
The men’s team also began the weekend with a 1-1 draw against the Mustangs. They rebounded from an early 1-0 deficit to come away with one point.
In the third minute Western’s Jason DeThomasis scored a goal and set the Gaels back early. It was 84 minutes before the Gaels would even up the score, with Chris Gencarelli netting the equalizer in the 87th minute.
Queen’s had come into the game seeking revenge against the team that eliminated them from last year’s postseason in the quarterfinals, McDowell said.
On Sunday the Gaels fell behind early again, as the Windsor Lancers went ahead 2-0 by the 15th minute of play. Queen’s responded just a minute later on a goal by Dave Kerr-Vayne, and then tied the game at 2-2 shortly before half as Gencarelli scored his second goal of the weekend.
The second half began with a flurry of goals, as Steve Irish and Tyler Swan both tallied markers for Queen’s in the first two minutes. Windsor responded with a goal of their own just a minute later.
Brent Lukowski added a goal for Queen’s, and Irish netted his second of the game as the Gaels put the finishing touches on a 6-3 victory.
The success of both the men’s and women’s teams this past weekend comes on the heels of their success at the annual Old-Four Tournament during the preseason in Montreal.
The men defeated Western 1-0 in the semifinals of the tournament before losing in penalty kicks to the nation’s fifth-ranked U of T Varsity Blues.
The women’s team also defeated the Mustangs in their semifinal match-up, but lost 1-0 to McGill in the final.
Both the men’s and women’s teams top their respective OUA east divisions by a four-point margin as they head into play this weekend.
The women face RMC in an away game on Friday, followed by their home opener on Sunday against the Ottawa Gee-Gees.
The men’s team will travel to RMC on Sunday for their only game of the weekend.
Queen’s soccer will be hosting the Danone Nations Cup—McDonald’s Soccer Camp tomorrow at LaSalle Secondary School from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. More than 300 kids between the ages of 10 and 12 will be participating in the camp. The Danone Nations Cup is the largest international tournament program for kids this age, allowing over two million children worldwide the chance to participate.
All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s) in Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be ed, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to [email protected].