Late goal leads to win

After several close calls, the Gaels triumph over Trent

Striker Chris Michael gave Queen’s a 1-0 lead over Trent in the 85th minute on Saturday.
Image by: Elie Ruderman
Striker Chris Michael gave Queen’s a 1-0 lead over Trent in the 85th minute on Saturday.

Chris Michael’s 85th-minute goal was all the Gaels needed to achieve a hard-fought victory.

Queen’s men’s soccer team improved to 4-2-2 with a 1-0 home win over the Trent Excalibur on Saturday, remaining fourth in the OUA East standings.

Michael’s goal was perhaps a case of poetic justice, as he hit the crossbar twice within the span of a few minutes before potting the winner. It was a lucky bounce that guided the ball into the back of the net, but Gaels head coach Chris Gencarelli wasn’t complaining.

“We were fortunate to get that [goal],” Gencarelli said. “I think it deflected off the defender and went over top of the goalkeeper, but we’ll take it.”

With the loss, Trent fell to 0-7-1 and remains at the bottom of the OUA standings. Despite this placement, Gencarelli said his team wasn’t expecting an easy game.

“They’re an excellent squad who [are] really well coached,” he said. “On the men’s side [of the OUA], there aren’t 7-0, 8-0 wins. Every game’s a close one.”

Saturday’s game was tight throughout, with neither side dominating the action for extended periods of time.

“You never know how those games are going to go,” Gencarelli said. “We told our guys … to stop focusing on the end result and just play well.”

The Gaels’ Dylan Maxwell made a point-blank save on Trent’s Adam Majid in the 34th minute, as well as a diving stop on a free kick in the 53rd minute to help preserve the clean sheet.

“He’s been great all year,” Gencarelli said of his goaltender. “He does an excellent job of controlling his back line and lifting the spirits of the guys.”

Gencarelli said he believes the tight game will build character for his team. While they tied the RMC Paladins 0-0 on Sept. 25, the Gaels’ three previous victories had all been by two goals or more.

“Having a win in a close game is going to be good for these guys,” Gencarelli said. “It was our first win like that this season, so hopefully we can build on that and move forward.”

The Gaels continue their season on Friday at 5:30 p.m. against their crosstown rivals, RMC, at West Campus Field. The Paladins currently sit seventh in the OUA at 1-5-1.

Tags

Gaels, Gencarelli, Men’s Soccer, Michael, Trent

All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s)-in-Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be contacted, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Skip to content