The men’s soccer team solved their scoring problems this past weekend, trouncing the Nipissing Lakers 5-0 on Saturday and tying the Laurentian Voyageurs 1-1 on Sunday.
Nipissing, a new team to the league, was badly outplayed by the Gaels right from the kickoff. An excellent early scoring chance by veteran Dan Seixerio set the tone for the game, and just minutes later, a Eugenio Bernier and Joseph Posca collaboration resulted in a strike that rang off the post. In the twenty-fourth minute, Bernier finally put to rest any Gaels concerns about scoring when he buried a shot in the low corner, off a set play from an indirect kick taken from twenty yards out.
Late in the first half, the Nipissing squad showed some signs of life, and earned a decent scoring opportunity off a corner kick. Still, the Gaels were relentless, and their flanks countered with two good chances in the final minutes of the half.
More than just outplayed, Nipissing was outclassed by the Gaels throughout the game. First-half frustrations led Laker Lawrence Mahoney to check big midfielder Jeremy Armstrong to the ground. The offence was grounds for a yellow card, but no call was made, and Armstrong irably kept his composure.
By the beginning of the second half, Nipissing was showing signs of fatigue, making frequent substitutions throughout the rest of the game, and u virtually their whole bench. Queen’s, looking very fit, only rotated in some bench players once it was clear they had the game in hand — an outcome affirmed with fast and furious scoring in the second half.
Midfielder Seixerio knocked a picture-perfect header into the top corner at 39 minutes, followed immediately by a free kick that sailed just wide.
Armstrong again found himself involved in an altercation that earned him a questionable yellow card, but the Gaels shrugged it off, and a quick pair of goals from Kevin Doucette and Bernier refocused the team. A late goal from rookie Kevin Thompson capped the game off nicely for the Gaels.
Queen’s head coach Al MacVicar was pleased with his team’s effort following the game.
“It was good to get a solid win like this, after coming off a tough loss [2-1 at Carleton] last week,” said MacVicar. The Gaels goal this year is to make the playoffs, a berth they missed out on last year, and MacVicar feels this is a step in the right direction.
“I like seeing us implementing what we worked on during the week. We used our flanks well and won lots of 50/50 balls,” he said.
While Sunday’s game was much tougher, the Queen’s squad still looked strong. Their lone goal came from offensive juggernaut Bernier, giving him three for the weekend. But Queens’ hopes for back-to-back wins were dashed in the final minutes of play by speedy Laurentian midfielder Gervase Robinson, whose strike evened the score.
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