Drama seems to be a theme for the Queen’s men’s soccer team this season, but this time, they earned a happy ending.
The Gaels stole a nail-biting matchup in Peterborough against the Trent University Excaliburs by a score of 4-3. Queen’s opened with dominance, firing seven shots in the first 15 minutes to Trent’s one, with Andrea Gortana, MBA ’26, leading the charge by recording four in just seven minutes.
Inevitably, the Gaels broke through 18 minutes in, when a long throw-in deep in Trent’s end was controlled by debutant Krystian Golen, ArtSci ’29. Golen turned before firing a lofty shot that snuck just under the Excaliburs’ crossbar to give the Gaels the lead.
The next fifteen minutes proved to be uneventful, in part thanks to great tight pressure from an Excaliburs’ team with increased urgency.
In the 33rd minute, Trent’s Warren Chambers delivered a long cross to star striker John Moncada, who mirrored Golen’s earlier move with a touch-and-spin that beat the Gaels’ defenders before firing into the bottom left to tie the game.
Just before the end of the first half, Golen stepped up once again, finding the ball after a deep Gaels throw-in, firing it into Trent’s net—and for the second time that evening, ran towards the Trent crowd with a finger pressed in front of his mouth to silence the crowd.
After many chances from both sides, the crowd in Peterborough weren’t silenced for long. In the 70th minute, a Trent corner kick landed on the feet of Chambers, who fired a shot that snuck through the Gaels and into the net to tie the game.
Just ten minutes later, a wave of pressure from the Excaliburs earned Trent a corner kick. The kick taken by Trent’s Leo Frans found Moncada, who made no mistake heading the ball into the Queen’s net, giving Trent their first lead in the game with just ten minutes remaining.
The Gaels frantically created chances to tie the game with just minutes left, but their saving grace was a controversial penalty call in the 89th minute. Ball tied the game from his penalty kick while Trent remained in disbelief due to the call. The minutes that followed were action-packed, highlighted by a great effort by Queen’s Jadon Lashley, ArtSci ’26, to run back and stop a point-blank Excaliburs chance.
As time ran past the allotted seven minutes of stoppage time, the Gaels’ pressure overwhelmed Trent as they earned three corner kicks in close succession. The third time was the charm. A corner from Tasos Golias, ArtSci ’29, making his Gaels debut with seconds left in the game, found veteran Ian Ferguson, ArtSci ’26, who knocked the ball straight into the net. Seconds later, the final whistle blew, breaking the home crowd’s hearts and giving Queen’s the win.
Goalkeeper Connor Adams, ArtSci ’26, stayed strong, recording five saves in the match as the Gaels move to 3-2-1 on the year.
The Gaels are just weeks removed from conceding last-second goals in back-to-back matches in Toronto, and fans will hope that Ferguson’s heroics mark a new chapter in their season. Following the win, Queen’s is now ranked as the 24th best soccer team in U Sports, up from 26th last week.
Queen’s will look to carry the momentum to Oshawa, ON., next week, as they face the Ontario Tech University Ridgebacks on Sept. 25 at 6 p.m. ET. Then, they’ll return to Richardson Stadium for a rematch against Trent on Sept. 28 at 1 p.m.
Tags
andrea gortana, Connor Adams, Ian Ferguson, Jacob Ball, Jadon Lashley, krystian golen, Men’s Soccer, Tasos Golias, Trent Excalibur
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