KINGSTON, Ont. (August 24, 2017) - The Gaels men's soccer team concluded their exhibition play today before the start of the OUA regular season this Sunday. Queen's suffered two losses in the last two matches against U SPORTS silver medalists UQAM Citadins, and the U SPORTS bronze medalists Guelph Gryphons. The Gaels finish pre-season action with a 1-4-0 record through five exhibition games. The Gaels lone win came over Toronto last Saturday in a 5-4 penalty kick result.

Queen's vs. Guelph
KINGSTON, Ont. (August 22, 2017) - The Gaels were defeated 2-1 by last season's OUA Champions during the exhibition match. The Gryphons hosted the U SPORTS Soccer Championship last season, culminating in a bronze medal finish.

GAME FLOW
Guelph came out strong in the first half, with two corners in the opening minutes of play. The Gryphons opened the scoring in the 27^th minute after a Gaels foul in the box led to a penalty kick goal by Jace Kotsopoulos. The Gryphons struck eighteen shots versus the Gaels including seven shots within the opening half. Second-year goalkeeper Alex Jones shone in goal for the Gaels, as he made four stops off of set pieces.
 
The Gaels picked up momentum in the second half, with their first corner kick of the match in the 63^rd minute. A pair of free kicks for Queen's from danger areas outside of the box gave way to goal-scoring opportunities, but both went just wide of the net. Nearing the end of the half, Brevin MacKay stripped the ball off of a Guelph defender, leading to a breakaway and frantic tackle in the box. The Gaels were awarded a penalty and third-year Kyle Owens stepped up to level the score 1-1 in the 82^nd minute.

The Gaels created some opportunities during the second half off of a strike from Pat Van Belleghem and a header from first year Chris Meyers. The only goal of the second half came from the Citadins in the 57th minute of play.


The celebrations were short-lived, as Guelph responded with another goal in the 85^th minute to edge the Gaels 2-1 before the final whistle.

The young Gaels squad has been busy during their preseason training camp push, playing four exhibition games in the past six days as they prepare for their season opener on September 2.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
4 – Number of saves made by goalkeeper Alex Jones
9 - Total shots from Guelph's Jace Kotsopoulos
09/02 – Date the Gaels kick off the regular season on the road at UOIT
31 – Guelph's total shots during the game
 
FINAL SAY
"The reason we schedule these matches is to see where we are against some of the top competition. We were fortunate enough to play the reigning OUA Champions today to help us get ourselves organized and see where we need to make improvements going forward and get into top game form. It is nice to win matches but at this time we are focused on how we perform and how we execute."
 
Queen's vs. UQAM
The Gaels fell 2-0 from the visiting UQAM in their last exhibition match of the preseason. The starting 11 for the Gaels saw many first-year players getting minutes as the Queen's men's soccer training camp winds down.

GAME FLOW
The Citadins put the Gaels under pressure early on in the first half. Queen's first year defender Zachary Toupin pulled off a massive block, stopping a shot that was surely a quality goal scoring opportunity for UQAM. However, the Citadins kept the pressure up and secured a goal in the 7th minute of play. Queen's relentlessly defended at the back for the remainder of the half. Third-year Liam Scullion displayed some outstanding defending in the closing minutes of the first half, going to ground to block a pass while outnumbered from a 3 vs. 1 UQAM counterattack.

The Gaels created some opportunities in the second half of play. Veteran striker Pat Van Belleghem had a shot on target from a through ball. A few minutes later, first-year Chris Meyer got his head on the end of a cross. The only goal of the second half however came from UQAM in the 57th minute.

UP NEXT
This Sunday sees the Gaels opening the OUA regular season on the road at UOIT with a 1pm kick off. Last year, the UOIT Ridgebacks finished with a 3-7-6 record compared to a 7-5-4 standing for the Gaels. The two school's met each other twice in conference play with the Gaels winning 3-1 on the road and tying in a 5-5 result at home.

Watch the Gaels season opener live on OUA.tv.