The Algonquin Wolves beat the Durham Lords 2-0 on Oct. 18 in an exciting home playoff match, advancing to the quarterfinals in men’s soccer.
“I think we were most happy with the amount of effort the guys had,” said Angus Wong, the Wolves’ head coach.
“This is one of the games that we felt the team really played for each other today. They were committed to each other as a team, so we were really happy with (the win).”
The Wolves scored an early 13th-minute goal by midfielder Cristian Aviles-Molina who was at the net at the right time to tap the ball home with a tidy finish.
Aviles-Molina would go on to score his second goal and the last goal in the game, this time on a penalty shot that sent the keeper the wrong way.
“I thought it was a strong performance,” said Aviles-Molina. “There were a little bit of ups and downs during the game, but we remained as a team and as a unit for the full 90 [minutes] even when we were suffering for a bit, but obviously the result shows the better team won today.”
A goal was disallowed against the Wolves in the 27th minute because the ball was supposedly in the Durham goalkeeper’s hands.
“I’m not sure if it should’ve counted or not. I’ll have to see it on tape. At the moment I thought it was fine, but I’ll have to see it again,” said Wong.
The Wolves will now be moving on to the quarterfinals to face Conestoga Condors in Kitchener on Oct. 21. The Condors are in first place in the west division with an undefeated record of 10-0. The OCAA website will livestream the game.
“We haven’t had a chance to see (Conestoga),” said Wong. “The season goes by really quickly, so we were focused on the other teams in the east. We are going to watch some tape on Conestoga. The west typically has strong teams.”
Added Wong: “They were a strong team last year. I think they are supposed to be really well-coached and have a really organized team, so I’m sure it’s going to be a challenge for us, but we are confident that if we play the way we are capable of playing that we can compete with anybody in the province.”