The men’s soccer team lost two closely contested matches on their road trip to Toronto last weekend, falling 2-0 to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues and 2-1 to the Ryerson Rams.
Queen’s goalkeeper Tyler Lewis recorded nine saves over the weekend and midfielder Graeme Webber scored the lone Gaels’ goal.
The losses are a setback to the team after impressive 2-0 and 5-0 victories over the Trent Excalibur and Royal Military College Paladins the weekend before.
Queen’s now sits tied with Ryerson for fourth place in the OUA East with a record of 4-6-1, good for 14 points. The top six teams in each division qualify for the playoffs, which will
begin Oct. 22.
Lewis said that the weekend wasn’t what the Gaels expected, but errors played a large part in their poor performance.
“We knew coming into [the Toronto game] that it was another level of competition. We were expecting more than we came out with, though,” he said. “On Sunday we weren’t clicking. We couldn’t get anything going. We gave them [the chances] they had and it made them look like a better team.”
The Gaels won’t have to wait long before they can seek redemption; they host the Varsity Blues and the Rams this weekend at Richardson Stadium.
Lewis said the Gaels are the better of the two teams.
“We know on an individual basis, we’re more talented than Ryerson is and we have the ability to put ourselves on a different level than them,” he said. “We’re getting really jacked up for it, for a little revenge. Especially going into playoffs where it looks like we’ll be playing them again.”
Lewis said that the games were close enough, and the Gaels are closely matched enough with both Ryerson and Toronto, they won’t be making any major adjustments for their next meeting.
“We’re comfortable with our formation and game plan,” he said. “We’re going to try to play the same style that we have been. It’s just a matter of getting everyone on the same page. … We were really disappointed with how things went last Sunday. It’s a big thing for them to come up here, come to Richardson and prove that we are the superior team.”
Wins this weekend, according to Lewis, would be just the kick start the Gaels need in order to perform well in the playoffs.
“We’ve had some really close, tough losses this year and wins this weekend would be important for morale, standings and just getting the playoffs started on the right foot.”
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