KINGSTON, Ont. (September 2, 2018) – The Queen's men's soccer team prevailed in their first action of the season with a 2-0 win over the Laurentian Voyageurs.
 
GAME FLOW
The Gaels started the game with a strong offensive push on the Voyageur's defence. In the 30^th minute they got on the board as Brevin MacKay was able to tap the ball through goalkeeper Connor Vande Weghe's legs and then buried the free ball into the empty net.
 
Eight minutes later, the Gaels struck again for a second goal. Off a free kick, defender Keven Mastri flew into the crease and deflected the ball into the net. Now in his fourth season, it was the first career goal for the man Gaels' fans call "Dougie".
 
The second half was a game of attrition as both teams struggled to create any scoring opportunities. Eventually the Gaels were able to wind the clock down to secure their first shutout of the season.
 
PHYSICAL PLAY
The game was a physical, hard-nosed style of football. The referees had their work cut out for them as they handed out six yellow cards as both teams were delivering hard fouls throughout the game.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
3 – Three saves was all Alex Jones needed for his first clean sheet of the season. The 2017 OUA All-Star had three shutouts in the 2017 campaign.
0 – The Voyaguers had no corners throughout the game as the Gaels defence stood their ground from start to finish.
 
 
FINAL SAY
"These guys to the game plan, I thought defensively we were strong and on the counter-attack we were quick. We were brave and in the right place at the right moment when we needed to finish. I'm really happy for these guys they deserve a lot of credit."
 
When asked about the physicality of the game Hoefler responded: "The biggest factor is that a lot of these guys are quite good intellects. Our team culture here is to focus on what we can control and we can't control what the ref decides, we can't control what our opponent does but we can control how we react in those situations."
 
UP NEXT
The Gaels will be on the road next weekend.  On Friday, Sept. 7 they'll travel to Oshawa to take on the UOIT Ridgebacks. Then on Sunday, Sept. 9 they'll face the Trent Excalibur in Peterborough.