The Gaels men’s soccer team saw their shot at redemption slip away this weekend.
On Sept. 13 at Richardson Stadium, Queen’s hosted the University of Toronto (U of T) Varsity Blues just a week after falling to them in Toronto. The rematch opened with the same intensity, as both sides picked up right where they left off.
12 minutes in, Oluwatomisin (Tommy) Salako, ArtSci ’29, cleared the ball with a heavy challenge that sent a Varsity Blue player tumbling. After conferring with his assistant, the referee showed Salako a red card—a call met with outrage from the Gaels, who appealed the referee to no avail. The red card has forced Salako to miss the Gaels’ next fixture, as per OUA regulations.
Down to 10 men, Queen’s weathered an onslaught of U of T chances. The Varsity Blues recorded seven shots before halftime, while the Gaels failed to score one. For the start of the second half, the pressure only continued, highlighted by three Varsity Blues shots between minutes 52 and 54 alone. In the flurry, goalkeeper Connor Adams, ArtSci ’26, made an unbelievable point-blank save after a U of T corner kick to keep the Gaels tied.
Adams and the Gaels defense held firm, but the breakthrough finally came at the 58th minute. After Ian Ferguson, ArtSci ’26, blocked a Toronto chance, the rebound fell to former professional soccer player Anthony White, who made no mistake sending his shot from the top of the box past Adams.
U of T’s pressure eased late in the second half, giving Queen’s a window to push forward. In the 82nd minute, a long-range free kick tested Toronto keeper Filip Zendelek, and just a minute later, Matt Diego Pasquale, ArtSci ’29, sprung Jacob Ball, ArtSci ’29, with a deep pass—only for Zendelek to shut the door again. In the 84th minute, Adams once again dived to keep the Gaels in the game, and in response to their goalkeeper’s heroics, the Gaels mustered up the strength to press the Varsity Blues for the final few minutes of the match.
For most of the final minutes, Toronto tightly defended any ideas the Gaels tried to pull off. However, with just a minute left in the game, Queen’s found its heroes in the form of its newest recruits. Ball unleashed a magnificent pass in the air to find fellow first-year Kenan Hodzic, ArtSci ’29, right in front of the goal. Hodzic connected, but the shot went right into the hands of Zendelek, and freshman standout Nathan Baker, ArtSci ’29 couldn’t clean up the rebound.
After a brief stoppage due to an injury sustained by U of T’s Alexei Ivanov, the Gaels only had one more chance to even the score and take home the draw.
In the final minute, Ball drove down the right wing and fired just wide of the post, narrowly missing his fourth goal in five games. Seconds later, the whistle blew, sealing another frustrating Gaels loss.
The loss still marked progress for head coach Kasy Kiarash’s team, who matched last week’s margin despite playing a man down. The Gaels now fall to 2-2-1 on the season, sitting fifth in the OUA East division.
The team will look to get back into the win column on the road against the Trent Excalibur in Peterborough, ON., on Sept. 19. Kickoff starts at 6 p.m. ET
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