The Laurentian Voyageurs men's soccer team were already feeling pretty good about themselves despite dropping their season opening encounter to the Carleton Ravens (3-1), that loss coming at the hands of the defending provincial champions.
One can only imagine the boost of confidence that ensued this past weekend as coach Tony Tagliafierro and company travelled to Kingston and returned north with four key points, providing some early-season hope for the possibility of post-season soccer in the offing at L.U. this fall.
On Saturday, the Laurentian lads blanked the RMC (Royal Military College) Paladins 4-0 on goals from Daniel Alexa, Timi Aliu, Nico Patenaude and Jaiden Santo, while rookie keeper Nate Shull registered a very quiet shutout in the first OUA game of his career.
That said, Shull was full measure for the clean slate the next day against the Queen's Gaels as the Voyageurs played their southern opponents to a scoreless draw, with both teams directing seven shots on net apiece.
"We knew going into Kingston that Queen's is one of those big school teams that have good quality," noted Nico Patenaude, a fourth year midfielder from the Ottawa region who Tagliafierro describes as a "heart and soul" contributor to team success.
"We knew it would be a dogfight. Even with RMC - their players can run for the whole ninety minutes and never get tired. And they test our physicality as well."
Boasting a more potent offense than is traditionally the case in these parts, the 2024 Voyageurs did not stray too far from the prescribed game plan, despite a clear contrast in what their weekend opponents presented as challenges.
"I would say the game plan going into both games was very similar," said Patenaude. "With RMC, we were very patient in our build up to try and find open gaps. But even with Queen's, we were still pretty patient, trying to move the defense around and breaking it down using pattern play."
"In both games, we felt the same tactis worked," added Patenaude. "We had some very good scoring chances against Queen's that we weren't able to capitalize on as opposed to the RMC game, where we did."
Even more encouraging than the 1-1-1 record to date is the fact that it comes at a time when Laurentian is replenishing the system somewhat in terms of their men's soccer program.
"It's very different compared to my first couple of years here," noted Patenaude. "This year, 90% of our tewam is made up of first and second year players. I think we have six players that are third year and above."
"We have a very, very young team."
The Voyageurs are eyeing another critical weekend in the upcoming days, facing a key home and home set with the Nipissing Lakers (0-2-0), with the teams set to battle Friday night in North Bay and then Sunday afternoon up at Laurentian University in Sdbury.
After enjoying a weekend off, the Laurentian women's team will also travel to face Nipissing on Friday but return home the next afternoon to face the Ottawa Gee Gees, the very team which welcomed new L.U. head coach Randy Ribeiro to his new OUA gig with a 6-0 beatdown in the nation's capital.
