The Algonquin Thunder men’s soccer team won their second straight game after an impressive 8-1 victory over the St. Lawrence Vikings on Sept. 20.
The win is a relief for the Thunder, who’ve had a disappointing start to the regular season, losing their first two games against Durham and Seneca.
Anthony Legendre, defender for the Thunder, said one of the reasons for the team’s rough start to the season is the increase in new players joining this year and the absence of previous players who were “really key” to the way the Algonquin Thunder played their games.
“It was huge coming in and not having those players,” said Legendre. “In the beginning it was definitely a huge difference but now we’re just covering up some of the patches from some of the players we’re missing.”
Things are getting improving as his new teammates adjust to the Thunder’s playing style and get more comfortable on the field, he said.
As well, the need for improvement this year is a lot greater because the current team hasn’t been playing together for as long as previous ones, Thunder’s head coach Mike Gagliano said .
“We’re a really new group so the chemistry needs to be built,” said Gagliano. “Once this team gels there’s a lot of potential there and I think we’re just starting to just scratch the surface of it.”
Gagliano said he’s pleased with the Thunder’s double rebound against St. Lawrence College and the team has so far just tried to stick with what they’ve been learning in their training sessions.
“As a team I think we played really well,” said Legendre about Wednesday’s game. “Bouncing off a 6-0 win and coming off to win 8-1 today was really good for us.”