Both Wolves soccer teams made a massive statement during their home openers Saturday afternoon as the Sault Cougars’ defence was shredded in consecutive 11-0 defeats.
The women’s soccer match kicked off the afternoon, as the Wolves put relentless pressure on the Cougars right out of the gate. Eventually, Makayla Pearl would set the tone by getting the Wolves on the board in the 12th minute.
From there, the field was an open playground for the Wolves.
Jasmine Young added another goal in the 16th minute, followed by Lisa Hartill in the 22nd minute. Pearl and Young would close out the half each with their second goals of the match in the 41st and 43rd minutes respectively, increasing the Wolves’ lead to 5-0 at halftime.
“We were given a lot of space and time to operate,” said Caitlin Pavone. “As a result, we used those open gaps to make smart plays and ultimately capitalize on our scoring chances.”
Pearl scored quickly out of halftime to complete the hat trick in the 48th minute. Samantha Jones got her name on the score sheet three minutes later before Pearl tallied her fourth goal of the game, stretching the Wolves’ lead to 8-0.
Nada Ghadban and Kayla DaSilva scored their first goals in the 63rd and 66th minutes, and Jones would add her second of the match in the 90th minute to end the game with an 11-0 Wolves win.
“It was a great game not only for the home opener, but for the first game of the season,” said Pearl. “Everyone was working out there, and we trained hard to be ready for the season. It was a good effort all around.”
The men’s soccer game would bring eerily identical results.
The Wolves had the Cougars pinned in their zone for almost the entire game.
The first goal was scored by Michael Iliopoulos 11 minutes in, but it remained 1-0 Wolves for a while. It wasn’t until the 32nd minute when Iliopoulos would score his second goal of the game, bringing the score to 2-0.
The floodgates opened.
Gershom Dupuy and Cristian Aviles-Molina chipped in with goals in the 40th and 42nd minutes respectively before Dupuy double dipped in the 45th minute.
The men’s Wolves team would also lead the Cougars 5-0 by the end of the first half.
Alix Tshimpaka Basa and Alessandro Vivolo got in on the offensive action in the 60th and 67th minutes, followed by a pair of goals from Yousef Ibrahim in the 71st and 75th minutes. The lead grew to nine.
Vivolo added two late goals in the 88th and 89th minutes for a hat trick of his own.
It was another 11-0 victory for the Wolves, with the men never allowing a single shot from the Cougars.
“We found success against them by playing with a high line and playing in behind our opponents,” said Aviles-Molina. “This gave us the ability to make passes through the defence, and we were able to take our chances from there.”