RDP Kings 5 Kodiaks 1
Kodiaks 4 RDP Queens 0
The RDP Kings soccer put the rest of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Association on notice Friday.
RDP scored at will against the Lethbridge College Kodiaks and notched a device 5-1 victory on home turf to kick off the men’s soccer season.
“I thought we started well and we really controlled play. It wasn’t quite to the speed I was hoping for but we did control the play,” said Kings coach Gerald Grobmier.
“Which took any sting away from them. Once we got that first goal, you could really tell things started to improve for us even more. Then we started to play the game speed that we were hoping to play at. We took the game to them.”
While there’s been plenty of turnover on both sides, there was no doubt a bit of unfinished business hanging in the air for the Kings Friday.
Lethbridge bested the Kings two years ago in the ACAC Men’s soccer final and for the players that remained, Friday’s win was a clear statement.
“We’re trying to send a message. We’re trying to tell everybody that RDP Kings are coming this year,” Grobmier said.
“Lethbridge is going through a transition. Two years ago they beat us in the ACAC final which hurt. This doesn’t make up for that, but this was a good statement for us. But we have lots of work to do.”
Pedro Humberto Neto, part of that provincial silver medal winning squad from 2019, kickstarted the Kings with his first goal of the year in the 24th minute.
Osvaldo Aguilar Herrera converted on a penalty kick with just over a minute left in the half and Gabriel Fleury de Queiroz notched another ahead of halftime t0 make it 3-0.
Queiroz was a force in the match and earned player of the game honours for his efforts.
“He was fantastic. He absolutely terrorized Lethbridge’s right side, over and over again. We were able to keep feeding him the ball and play extremely directly and attack their defenders,” Grobmier said.
Jesus Amaris added a tally for the Kings in the 50th minute and Neto notched his second of the night in the 74th.
Vincent Dick was player of the game for the Kodiaks.
RDP will play the Olds College Broncos in a home and home next weekend. The Kings will welcome the Broncos to RDP on Sunday.
The RDP Queens got off to a rough start in their Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference opener against the Lethbridge College Kodiaks.
Lethbridge College scored just 30 seconds into the game and didn’t look back on the way to a convincing 4-0 victory.
“It wasn’t our game, we didn’t play the way we usually do. Maybe it was first-game jitters. For some of these girls, its the home opener and there were fans out. For some of them it’s their first time in an ACAC game,” said Mahziar Peyrow, RDP Soccer general manager and Queens head coach.
“Next time we just have to come out more prepared.”
The Queens had some pressure in the opener, posting 12 shots on goal but they weren’t able to get anything past Kodiaks netminder Cailey Lister who posted the shutout. Peyrow said they’ve got lots of work to do ahead of their next contest on Sept. 26 against the Olds College Broncos.
“Key focus right now is we need to move the ball more and faster,” he said.
“Now they see the pace of the game, this is the ACAC. Welcome to ACAC. They see this is the pace and we need to keep our pace up. If we move the ball a little sooner, the press isn’t on for the other team and we’re able to get up into their end.”
Queens defender Sofia Quinteros was player of the game and Olivia DePasquale, with one goal, was POG for Lethbridge College.
Quinteros was a steadying presence for the Queens despite the loss.
“She did well, she was there when we needed her in the middle. Defensively, she slipped in between the centrebacks at times to save us. As well she was there to support the play up front in their attacking third, which was nice,” Peyrow said.
“She moved the ball well, received it at one side and moved it to the other side. She did her job today for sure.”
