If a playoff berth is not to be, then a proper seniors' send-off is always nice.
The Laurentian Voyageurs soccer teams did exactly that Sunday afternoon in Sudbury, sweeping an end of season two game set with the Trent Excalibur to close out the fall of 2025.
The Laurentian women racked up their first win of the year, toppling Trent 3-1 in order to finish their campaign with a record of 1-10-1.
Sudbury native Natalia Bégic opened the scoring ten minutes in and Amélie Pires doubled the advantage for the homeside before the end of the opening half.
Emma Da Silva got Trent on the board, finding the back of the net in the 73rd minute but Pires got that one back on a heads-up quick ball play some seen minutes later, securing victory for head coach Randy Rebeiro and company.
Now in his second year with the team, Rebeiro believes that his group is beginning to forge an identity that they can move forward with, in years to come.
"For us, it was about making sure that we were bringing in not just quality, but bringing in the right people to buy-in to what we are trying to do here," said the man who was one of three finalists for League1 Ontario Coach of the Year honours for his work with the Guelph United women this past summer.
"It's important to bring in the right people to get the culture right. I think we have done a really good job with that."
After not scoring a goal in dropping their first six games of the year, the Voyageurs women managed to hit the mark in losses to both the Queens Gaels and Ontario Tech Ridgebacks in the second half of the year, as well as earning a 2-2 draw with the RMC (Royal Military College) Paladins.
"We are a very young team," said Rebeiro. "We all understand that bringing the program to where we want it to be doesn't happen overnight. It's going to be a process. I am super proud that we could see off the seniors this weekend with three points and our first win of the season."
The sentiment on the men's side was much the same and rookie Sam Howard played a big part in making that happen.
Following a scoreless opening half of play, Warren Chambers put Trent on the board, finishing off a scramble in the box in the 60th minute.
Less than ten minutes later, Howard redirected a touch pass from Joseph Martins in tight and then came through with the game-winning goal on a lovely header off a free kick in the 89th minute as veteran Nico Patenaude spotted Howard on the far side of the box, unmarked.
"For me, any win is a win; you really have to work," said Howard. "I grew up playing in Waterloo and we lost a lot of games. This was the seniors last game and it means a lot to them."
On the men's side, Timi Aliu, Lucas Cidade, Jaiden Santos and Nico Patenaude all celebrated their final outings with L.U. while keepers Noémie Bouchard and Hunter Jones joined Mary Whiffen and Amélie Pires did likewise for the ladies (though at least a couple of the above might return for year five).
Sam Howard is at the other end of the spectrum, closing the books on his freshman year of soccer. A striker and winger in his youth, the native of Goderich spent the summer in Sudbury with the Cyclones, continuing to work on his offensive skill-set.
"When I play it out side, I am always looking for the gap between the defenders behind the line," he said. "I am looking to get in that space where maybe the ball just drops there and then you have an open chance to shoot."
The Laurentian men posted a deceiving record of 2-7-3, contesting a number of very close encounters with some of the province's top teams as they look for a young team to grow in 2026 with what should be a more favourable schedule.
