After dropping a 2-1 decision and the promise of an unbeaten season to the Laurentian Voyageurs on Saturday, the men’s soccer team had to gear up to get back on track with a winning performance against the Nipissing Lakers.
It didn’t happen.
The game was a drab affair and not one for the purists, with countless mistakes and a lack of attacking imagination from both sides.
The Gaels played without both captains this weekend, goaltender Sean Martin-Courtright and fifth-year defender Michael Zanetti, who broke a vertebra on Saturday.
Defender Andrew Nador said the Gaels’ performance over the weekend might have been due to underestimating their opposition.
“We were coming off a high last weekend with a win against Toronto and we were feeling pretty good this week,” he said. “Maybe our heads got too big and we didn’t give them the credit they deserved and they threw it in our face.”
Nador said injuries played a major role in Queen’s inability to play at the same standard that saw them begin their season undefeated in three games.
“We didn’t have Mike Arnold today in the middle, and he’s a pretty integral part of our attack,” he said. “We were a little shaken up because we lost Mike Zanetti yesterday. We’ll get our heads straight this week and come out strong next week and get the six points.”
Head coach Carlo Cannovan said he was disappointed by the outcome of the weekend.
“We expected six points, we dropped five,” he said. “We’ve got to pick up our boots, work harder and go back to the drawing board.”
Cannovan said his side’s capable of creating chances if they open their play to the wings more.
“We’ve got a lot of great speed and we’ve got to use that to open up the game more,” he said.
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