Kings 4 Trojans 2
The RDC Kings have the talent to be a solid contender in the Alberta Colleges Men’s Soccer League.
All they needed to do was prove it.
They took a major step in that direction with an impressive 4-2 victory over the SAIT Trojans Saturday afternoon at RDC.
“Today we allowed one soft goal, but we played brilliantly the first half, as good as we at any time and so we went into the half knowing we could beat that team,” said Kings head coach Steve Fullarton.
The Kings trailed 1-0 at the half on a goal by Mike Hamm, but more than controlled play in the second 45 minutes with Greg Reddekopp, Geng Thian, Cale Jacobs and Dallas Hughes connecting once each. Jordan Alverez had SAIT’s second marker, which narrowed the gap to 3-2. However, Thian made an outstanding burst up the middle and was robbed by Trojans netminder Seth Van Loon before Hughes slammed home the rebound to cap the scoring.
“We always felt with a little luck, a rub of the green, we’d score against them and we got it,” added Fullarton, whose squad sits a 1-1-1. Last weekend they tied Medicine Hat and lost to Lethbridge.
“Last weekend we didn’t play badly, although our defence wasn’t as good,” said Fullarton.
The Kings scored all four of their second half goals into the wind.
“The guys are passing the ball well,” continued Fullarton.“We have the bodies to do it this year. We also have guys who can score from anywhere. Good technical players who are capable of chipping in offensively.
“We knew also if we kept going at them we’d get the results. And to do it against one of the Calgary teams was even more important. It’s been some time since we’ve had success against them. But then this is a different team with a different mentality.”
Fullarton went into the season wanting to have more success at home.
“We changed our prematch setup. We meet earlier and do a few different aspect of preparation and so far it’s paid off. I’m not sure if that’s the reason, but we’ll take it.”
RDC hosts Mount Royal University Cougars today, with the women getting underway at noon and the men to follow.
“It’ another tough test as Mount Royal is one the top sides in the league. We have to apply ourselves again and pass the ball well and create chances.”
Brad Hughes picked up the win in goal.
Queens 2 Trojans 0
Anyone who watched the women’s match would tell you the Queens could have easily blown the Trojans away.
“To be honest it could have been eight or nine nothing and I’m sure the other coach would tell you the same thing,” said Queens head coach David McCarthy. “It was a good performance, the only thing that let us down was our finishing touch.”
And SAIT keeper Toni Robeiro-Jacobs had something to say as well, making a number of outstanding saves.
The Queens were also without leading scorer Rachel Gaudry, who injured her knee slightly at practice. She saw five minutes of play in the second half, but it was still sore and she’ll more than likely miss today’s match.
Stephanie Tremblay, with her third goal of the season, and Kayla Keenan connected for the Queens. Lauren Good recorded the shutout.
The Queens ran their record to 2-1-0 and they’re still not clicking on all cylinders.
“We’re still finding our feet and getting comfortable with each other as we have a lot of new players,” said McCarthy. “But each game we’re showing more consistency and our continuity is better and better as we have more understanding where to be on the field.”
McCarthy also believes the Queens have to be tough at home.
“We talked before the game about this being our field and we expect to be the boss. We want to win as many games as we can, no matter where we are, but when we’re home we want the three points.”
drode@www.reddeeradvocate.com