A five-game winless streak finally came to an end for the Gaels on Sept. 20, with a dominant 5-0 victory away against the also winless RMC Paladins.
On Sept. 22, they doubled their win tally in front of a home crowd at Richardson Stadium with another win against the Paladins, this time taking the game 1-0.
For a team that has struggled to generate any offence this season, the first game against the Paladins was a breath of fresh air. With seven shots on goal, the Gaels converted at a 71.5 per cent rate for their opportunities.
Veteran midfielder, Andrea Gortana, Comm ’24, opened the scoring in the 28th minute, followed quickly by rookie forward George Papadopoulos, ArtSci ’28, only two minutes later.
A third goal by another rookie Luca DeCaria, ArtSci ’28, just before the halftime whistle gave Queen’s a 3-0 lead going into the break.
From this point it would be smooth sailing, with the Paladins failing to challenge Gaels goalie Connor Adams, ArtSci ’25, after forcing him to produce two saves in the first—allowing him to hold onto his second clean sheet of the season.
Papadopoulos would score a brace in the 47th minute, and another rookie Damiano Sinaguglia, ArtSci ’28 put the final exclamation point on a one-sided scoring affair with a fifth goal in the 72nd minute.
Two days later, at Richardson Stadium, the team would continue their offensive barrage, with 17 total shots. However, they were only able to challenge the keeper six times, with only one finding its way into the back of the net.
Cameron Cino, Sci ’28, the lone goal scorer, was the fourth rookie goal scorer of the weekend. It’s a promising sign for the struggling team to see their youth leading the charge.
Another bright spot came from the defence, which allowed only two shots in 90 minutes, leaving goalie Connor Adams unchallenged throughout the match.
Hopefully, this momentum will spark a turnaround for the Gaels as they strive for a playoff berth.
This weekend, the Gaels travel north to North Bay and Sudbury to take on the Nipissing Lakers on Sept. 28 at 1 p.m. and the Laurentian Voyageurs on Sept. 29 at 2:15 p.m. You can watch the team attempt to maintain their win streak at OUA.tv.
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