By Timothy Kraft, for the Lambda
On Oct. 4 the men’s Voyageurs soccer team capped off a successful home weekend with an electrifying 3-2 win over Queen’s Gaels.
The Voyageurs began the game with composure as their defensive prowess baited offsides and took away the outside field from Gael’s offence.
It wasn’t long before Voyageur defense turned to offence. With 22 minutes left in the first half, Matthew Wilkes (striker) received a pass from Luke Ewach (midfielder), shaking two Gael’s defenders for a moxie goal.
The Gaels attempted to respond with a one-on-one opportunity against Voyageur Connor Vande Weghe (goalkeeper) but were demoralized by Weghe when he got a hand on the shot.
Ewach soon provided another heads up play, threading the needle to Christopher Atkinson (midfielder) at the wing where Atkinson just fit in a goal between Gael’s post and goalkeeper, extending the lead to 2-0.
“Keep playing the same way. Let’s not drop off, cause they’re going to push,” Head Coach Castrechino warned the Voyageurs team during half time – and as Castrechino predicted, the Gaels did accordingly, starting the second half strong and antagonizing physicality.
With 33 minutes left in the game, Gaels scored their first goal.
The physicality progressed, as the Gaels were given their first yellow card of the match after a heavy midfield collision with a Voyageur. The Gaels soon received a second card for physicality, which was intended to be yellow, until one of the Gael’s defencemen called the card “shocking”, earning them a red card instead.
The Voyageurs later received their first yellow card of the game awarding Gael’s a free kick of which they scored, tying the match 2-2.
The final minutes of the game were back and forth, but as time dwindled down, the Voyageurs prevailed dominant when Nick Franke (center back) scored the game-winning goal off a deep corner kick.
Franke said the goal gave him “one of the happiest feelings” in his four years as a Voyageur.
Franke added, “We gotta keep pushing forward.”
“We needed the win”,” commented Voyageur’s captain Omar Allison (midfielder) on the team’s victory.
Fans rose to their feet in applause as the Voyageur’s improved their record to 3-6-1.
You can catch the men Voyageurs in their next match against Trent University on Oct. 10, at the LU field.
-Photos by Kayla Perry