With the beginning of training camp upon us, the Queen’s Gaels women’s soccer club is hitting the field for what promises to be an exciting season.
The Tri-Colour is coming off a in year in which they finished the regular season with a record of nine wins, no losses and three draws.
But their regular season success didn’t translate into success in the post-season as they were eliminated in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) semi-finals.
This season they’re guaranteed a spot in the U-Sports nationals as the tournament host, but that doesn’t mean they’ll rest on their laurels
“With nationals being here this fall we’re really excited to get going. But I think what we’re going to do through the next month is prepare as best we can to kind of mould this group,” Gaels goalkeeper, Kirstin Tynan, said.
“We’d still really like to qualify for it on our own,” head coach, Dave McDowell added. “So being in the Ontario final at the end of October is something that we’re still aiming for.”
While qualifying on their own is the goal, it might be even harder to do so this year with the Gaels bringing in eight new players. But a young team can have its benefits.
“We go in with what I think will be an exciting, dynamic but young team. so young teams can do young things,” McDowell said.
“I think that’s what we’re really focusing on is just making sure that maturity as a team is where it needs to be.”
“I think it’s also a lot of new players that definitely want to prove themselves and want a spot on the field and on this team,” centre-midfielder, Marissa Gravel, added.
“So with that, you have a lot of people striving for the absolute best they can do which elevates training and elevates everyone’s game.”
And they’ll need to elevate their game with so many strong teams in the OUA. But don’t ask them which one they’re most concerned with.
“There’s a lot of good teams, and a lot of good performances to be had. I’m not going to say that there’s one team, in particular, we should focus on. I think we should head into every game bringing out the absolute best because you never know what’s going to happen there,” Gravel said.
The Lady Gaels kick off their season Aug. 31st at home against the University of Toronto.
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