It was a week of rest for our rugby teams while our soccer teams battled for playoff positioning in the final week of the regular season. Our basketball teams were in Montreal for pre-season tournaments against RSEQ competition. Let's take a look at the week that was.
Women's Soccer (7-2-1)
The Wolves made the short trip to Kingston on Wednesday to take on the St. Lawrence Surge (2-7-1). This was an important one with the team hoping to help their chances of hosting a home playoff game in the first round. For the first time this season the women's team played the second game of the double header kicking-off at 8:15 pm. The late start time didn't seem to phase them as they cruised to a 5-0 win. Samantha Jones had a big game scoring the first 3 goals for the Wolves. Jones leads the Wolves in goals and is tied for 5th in the OCAA with 7 goals in 10 games. The other two goals were scored by Jasmine Young with her first of the year and Jordan Blades-McHenry who scored her 5th.
On Saturday the Wolves hosted the Cambrian Golden-Shield (5-4-1) in the final game of the regular season. Going into the day, Algonquin held the 3rd spot in the East standings with Cambrian just 1 spot behind them. A win or a tie would secure the 3rd spot but a loss would mean that Cambrian would take over 3rd. When the two teams met earlier in the season they played to a nil-nil draw. Prior to kick-off a short ceremony was held to celebrate the teams 3 graduating seniors Kayla Da Silva, Alexis Benz and Jordan Blades-McHenry. Once the game got on their way, the Wolves got off to an early start. In the 7th minute, Jasmine Young fed Nada Ghadban who scored to give her team a 1-nil lead. The Wolves would score again in the 48th minute when Kassandra Da Cruz put one just under the crossbar off an assist from Sarah Garrett. The game ended with a 2-nil score.
The Wolves secured 3rd place and will host the 6th place Durham Lords on Wednesday October 16th at 6:00 pm in a win or go home match at the Algonquin Sports Field. The winner will move on to the ¼ finals on Saturday October 19th.
Men's Soccer (7-1-2)
The Wolves went into the final week of the regular season hoping to secure the top spot in the East going into the OCAA playoffs. They took on the Surge (4-6-0) in Kingston on Wednesday night. It was a successful final road trip for Algonquin earning 3 points with a 5-1 win. Gershom Dupuy finished with a hat trick. Cristian Aviles-Molina and Jaeden Mercure scored the other 2 Wolves goals.
On Saturday the Wolves welcomed the Cambrian Golden Shield (2-6-2) to the Algonquin Sports Field. A win or draw for Algonquin would secure the 1 seed going into the playoffs. A loss would give the Seneca Sting a chance to leapfrog them if they were able to win their final game against George Brown. Needless to say, it was a big day for the Algonquin men's soccer program. Prior to the game the Students' Association took the time to celebrate the 4 graduating seniors. Olivier Langlois, Yousef Ibrahim, Connor David and Oscar Forward have been with the Wolves since the 2022-23 season. The game itself was close throughout. Despite their record, Cambrian has been in tight matches all year with a goal differential of just -4. After 45 minutes the teams went into the locker room with the score still nil-nil. The Wolves finally broke the tie in the 70th minute when Gershom Dupuy scored on a header off a pass from Jaeden Mercure. That was all the scoring this game would see.
For the first time since the 2019 season the Algonquin men's soccer team are OCAA East regular season champions! They will go into the playoffs as the top seed and will take on the Fleming Phoenix on Wednesday at 8:15 pm at the Algonquin Sports Field with the winner moving on to the ¼ final on Saturday September 19th.
The next week will be a big one for the Wolves. Soccer playoffs get on their way, men's rugby will finish off the regular season, our volleyball teams will get the regular season started on the road at Canadore and men's basketball will tip-off at La Cité in their first OCAA action of the 2024-25 campaign. Make sure to stay tuned to AlgonquinWolves.com for all the details.