The Algonquin Thunder women’s varsity soccer team opened their 2018 home schedule with a convincing 4-1 victory over the Centennial Colts on Sept. 14.
Jasmine Short, Andrianna Dmulchalsky, Hailey Martin and Beth Weisskopf each scored, as the Thunder improved to 2-0-1 on the young season.
The result was never in doubt, as the Thunder controlled the majority of the game, much to the approval of head coach Basil Phillips.
“Yeah, we dominated the play, which was good. We want to be able to continue doing that against teams,” said Phillips immediately after the victory. “But I think we just got to work the ball a bit better in certain circumstances and be able to finish more.”
While he was content with the team’s performance, Phillips admits that there are still things that need to be worked on.
“Expectations for me are always high. I thought we played well for the majority of the game,” he said, adding that there were “letdowns in spots”, but that he was still pleased overall.
As a new coach, having taken over for a regime that won multiple provincial titles, Phillips says that, while expectations for success are high, there has been a lot of turnover from last season.
“The team only has a few returning players from the team that won provincials last year, so the majority of our team are first-year players,” said Phillips. “So, essentially the expectations are still there from the past but, from the present, we’re looking to be as effective as we can and build through the season.”
Following a game at home versus Durham on Sept. 15, the Thunder will travel to Centennial and Loyalist for road games on Sept. 21 and Sept. 22, respectively.