VOYAGEURS RECORD HISTORIC HOME SPLIT IN PAIR OF WEEKEND GAMES
LAC LA BICHE – It was an historic weekend at the Bold Center Soccer Field September 28 and 29 – although not as historic as it could have been. The Portage College Voyageurs Men's Soccer Team recorded its first-ever home win, besting the Northwestern Polytechnic Wolves 1-0 on Saturday in front of an enthusiastic crowd.
With Blur's "Song 2" (woo hoo!) blasting over the loudspeakers after the final whistle sounded, the Voyageurs ran to the stands to celebrate with the crowd. The joy on the faces of the players and the fans in the stands was obvious from a mile away – and completely understandable. This was the first time in their six-year history that the Voyageurs had won at home. They'd grabbed a few victories on the road but never in the friendly confines of the Bold Center Soccer Field.
Dominic Douglas scored on a beautiful solo effort in the 10th minute of play and the Voyageurs managed to keep the Wolves at bay the rest of the way, thanks to strong defensive play and stellar goaltending from Player of the Game Ben Kenny. Mind you, it got a bit tense at the end.
"They played a good game for 80 minutes," said Head Coach Macky Singh after the victory. "In the last 10 minutes, we were not in the game at all. We panicked…and just were not composed. Credit to NWP. The last 10 minutes, they controlled the game."
Heading into a rematch less than 24 later, the experienced coach knew his troops would have to play even better if they were going to duplicate Saturday's positive result.
"The good thing about it is we held out, but a lot of nervousness and panic crept in the last 10 minutes," he said. "It's good we go the three points. But we've got to be better tomorrow."
His warning proved prophetic on Sunday, as the Voyageurs came out a bit flat to start the game and found themselves down 1-0 after the Wolves' Barauh Al-Slaa potted the first of two markers on the afternoon at the four-minute mark. And while they played better from there, the home squad was down 2-0 before Daniel Hyrsky managed to halve the deficit just before half. A late push provided some drama but Jacob Lemire's goal in the 83rd minute ended the suspense. While giving credit to the Wolves, Singh wasn't thrilled with his team's performance.
"I think the occasion got to us," he said after the game. "We won yesterday and thought, 'Ok, we've got this game in the bag' and we came out flat. We forgot the basics and it got to us."
With a busy schedule ahead – three games in five days, including two on the road – the head coach knows his players will need to up their game if they hope to replicate the feeling of euphoria they experienced after Saturday's victory.
"We'll re-group and re-focus and we what we have to do from there," said Singh.
Players of the Game
September 28:
- NWP: #15 Andrew Jackson
- Portage: #1 Ben Kenny
September 29:
- NWP: #21 Barauh Al-Slaa
Portage: #8 Michael Musanza
