The Thunder men’s soccer teams are at the CCAA National Championship in Montreal despite a devastating loss to Humber in the OCAA Provincial Championship final on Oct. 31.
The Thunder were dominated from the first minute to the 90th as the Hawks cruised to an easy 3-0 victory.
“I think we didn’t give it our best,” said Thunder head coach Mike Gagliano. “Obviously there was stuff that we didn’t bring to the table which is a little bit disappointing.”
The Thunder were under siege from the get-go, culminating in a disastrous eight minutes that put the game all but out of reach.
In the 10th minute, Humber winger Jaineil Hoilett swung a ball into the box that found the head of Kingsley Boasiako, who sent it flying by Thunder keeper Simon Brown.
Minutes later, Humber striker Patrick Majcher was brought down in the box and was awarded a penalty. The Thunder would be saved by keeper Simon Brown who guessed right and made a spectacular save to keep the game 1-0.
But not even Simon Brown’s heroics could stir the Thunder. In the 18th minute, Humber’s Joshua Parades-Proctor launched a strike from range that deflected off a body in front and flew into the left side of the net making it 2-0.
“They’re an experienced team,” said Gagliano. They’re a good side and full marks for their victory.”
It was a disappointing effort from a Thunder team that has shared dominance over the OCAA with Humber for the previous 11 years.
“We have to have a little more pride in what we’re doing,” said Thunder captain Stephane Emard. “We can’t sit back and let things happen, we have to make it happen.”
Algonquin will get a mulligan because they will still head to the CCAA national championship in Montreal on Nov. 11-14, where they could get a shot at redemption against Humber.
“We move on,” said Emard. “We have a chance to redeem ourselves against them at nationals so I’m looking forward to that.”
Despite the loss, the Thunder don’t believe they need to change their tactics for nationals. They believe that their mental approach is what needs tweaking.
“I think the guys need to want it more,” said Gagliano. “I think maybe because of the stage and because of the fact that we’re a very young team so a lot of guys don’t know what to expect in the moment and I think this game will help us push forward for nationals.”
The tournament had started wonderfully for the Thunder as they overcame a tough first half against the University of Toronto Mississauga Eagles to score a 2-0 victory.
Algonquin would then move on to dominate Cambrian in the semi-final, running away with an impressive 3-0 win to take them to their third consecutive OCAA final.
While the ending to provincials was disappointing, the Thunder still have a confident swagger about them as they head into nationals.
“We can win gold,” said Emard. Without a doubt.”