The men’s soccer team’s season came to an abrupt end on Saturday, losing 2-1 to the University of Toronto in the quarter finals of the OUA Playoffs. The Gaels led for much of the game, but fell after Toronto netted two goals in the closing minutes.
Defender Justin Vermeer was frustrated that such a strong effort went to waste.
“It’s disappointing,” he said. “We respected our game plan; we did what the coaches had planned for us. It’s hard to play a game like that and not come out with the victory. We had that goal, and we let it slip away.”
After Queen’s took a lead in the 36th minute with a goal from right-back Joseph Zupo, the Blues tied the game 1-1 with five minutes remaining. Toronto then took the lead in the last minute, after they were awarded a controversial penalty kick over a handball call.
Vermeer said he was shocked by the call.
“I was dumbfounded,” he said. “We got unlucky, that’s what it came down to.”
Playing in his last game, Vermeer was unhappy to see his career with the Gaels end on such a sour note.
“Being in my fifth year, playing in my last game … it’s tough to see it go like that,” he said.
Captain Mike Arnold was also angered to see the season slip away so quickly.
“We weren’t cheated out of the win, but it was a heartbreaker,” he said. “It’s frustrating for your season to be over in five minutes.”
Arnold felt that there were times when the Gaels could have finished off the Blues by putting the win out of reach.
“We had chances to put the game to bed,” he said. “It’s tough leading most of the game because you start to fall into that mindset of just holding on.”
The captain described the somber mood in the dressing room after the loss.
“There wasn’t much going on,” he said. “We were just taking a few moments to take it all in. We felt we were going to come away with that win.” Still, he was positive about his team’s effort.
“Whenever you lose, it’s tough to think about anything else,” he said. “But I think we played really well. We traveled down to Toronto, and playing against easily one of the best teams in Ontario, if not Canada, and led for most of the game.”
Head coach Chris Gencarelli, too, was positive despite the defeat.
“We were playing some very good soccer,” he said. “We were very competitive.” The coach went on to highlight his frustration with the referee’s decision to award a late penalty.
“They were awarded it, which I don’t think was the best decision,” he said. “But it is what it is.”
Saturday saw the end of an off-and-on season for Gencarelli’s team, who finished the regular season with an 8-5-1 record. The Gaels had little trouble beating easier opposition, but consistently fell to teams such as Carleton, Toronto, and Ryerson. Still, this did not prevent Gencarelli from being satisfied with his team’s performance in his first year at the helm.
“I’m not frustrated at all,” he said. “If you look back at the games we lost, we were in all of them. Whenever we played Toronto, for instance, they would always score late in the second half. Sure we made mistakes, but I’m very proud. This is one of the strongest teams I have ever seen, both as a player and as a coach.”
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