In an exciting double-header Saturday, both the men’s and women’s soccer teams played their first games on the new Varsity Field, the former site of U of T’s historic Varsity Stadium, and won, 2-1 and 3-2 respectively, against the Windsor Lancers. For both teams, the win was their first of the season.
On the men’s side, the game started off well, with a goal in the first thirty minutes. But their performance quickly dwindled. In the middle of the game, play was half-hearted and uninspired, allowing Windsor to tie the game up in the second half. Windsor’s goal seemed to inspire the Blues, who demonstrated good character in pressuring the Windsor team to the last minutes of the game, when the winning goal was scored.
“I was not happy with the way we played,” commented men’s coach Jim Lefkos, “but the bottom line is that we got a win and any coach would be happy with that.” The men’s squad, who last year finished an impressive third in the province (losing in the national qualifier to the championship team, Laurier) has lost 7 players, including 4 of its former stars. While this loss is certainly felt, Lefkos insists that his team is still championship quality.
The potential of the rookies to fill the shoes of the outgoing players was shown Saturday by the play of rookie George Davis, Lefkos’ unofficial “Player of the Game.” Davis came in to fill the large shoes of All-Canadian and team captain Anthony Capotosto, who was injured and unable to play in the game. Davis filled Capotosto’s key defence position outstandingly, greatly contributing to the team’s win.
“We’re lacking the chemistry right now that we’ll need to do well in the playoffs,” said Capotosto. “We’ve lost a lot of key players from last year, and gotten a lot of talented rookies this year, but it’s going to take a while to gel and that just requires practice and time.”
On the women’s side, the game was also sloppy. Characterized by mental mistakes and poor focus, the game was not one that head coach Niki Nicolaou wants to set as an example. It started out well, with the Blues scoring three unanswered goals. But then focus fell off. The players had trouble finding their marks, pressuring the ball carriers, and performing the smaller tasks of the game. These mistakes, feels Nicolaou, are the reason for the team’s previous two losses.
“It was not a great game,” she admitted, but, echoing the sentiments of the men’s squad, she added, “we’ll take the three points [earned by a win].”
And the team still looks good. So good, in fact, that Nicolaou refuses to consider forecasting anything but playing in the OUA semi-finals, and beyond. Saturday’s game, despite its faults, still demonstrated the potential of the young team. Nicolaou is convinced that time and practice will serve to overcome their current errors and produce a winning team.
Photograph by Ryan Clements
