Many disappointments at CCAA for men's soccer

By Daniel Nugent-Bowman

nuge0020@algonquincollege.com

Constant turmoil put a damper on what was supposed to be a golden experience for the men’s soccer team.

With the national championships on the line, the injury bug struck the Thunder in an enormous way at the worst possible time.

The Thunder led the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association gold medal game in Kamloops, B.C. 3-1 at half time over the home province’s Capilano Blues, but with injuries to midfielders Perry Legakis, Edwin Morin, Erichsen Bailey, and Michael Tjarera in the game, Algonquin was left defenceless during a ferocious Blues comeback in which they fell 6-5.

The incredible rash of wounded was intensified by the inactiveness of Tyller Farrell-Rose and Shawn Pound for the finals, leaving the Thunder with only backup keeper Rob Lungstrass on the bench for the second half. Farrell-Rose was unavailable after twisting his knee in the first day of practicing and Shawn Pound was out deep gash in his quadricep when he was cleated in the team’s second match. CCAA rules permitted each squad to only declare 18 players eligible for the tournament.

“It was frustrating,” said administer of athletic operations Ron Port. “We [basically] had no midfielders in the second half. [Capilano] realized that we were at a disadvantage and they went through out midfield.

“The coaches looked down the bench and said ‘what can you do?’”

Despite the loss, Port was able to see the silver lining in what his team had accomplished.

“We’ve been to five finals in a row and I think there’s something to be said for that,” he said. “There’s a lot to say about finishing second in Canada. I have to give the players kudos.”

The Thunder seemingly played the entire tournament shorthanded. They spent much of the second half of their opening match against the host Thompson Rivers WolfPack with nine men, once Edgar Soglo and Stephane LeMay were ejected with red cards. Algonquin held onto win the match 2-1, but were without both players for their second match against the Concordia Thunder from Alberta.

While Algonquin beat Concordia 3-0, having fewer players available hurt the team going forward.

“The first two games were very physical and we picked up a lot of nagging injuries,” said Port.

The high volume in the infirmary wasn’t the only thing Algonquin had to deal with in Kamloops. Taunts from opposing players and fans, plus unfair targeting from officials and the CCAA added insult to injury.

Port claimed his players were yelled at in a derogatory manner continuously and members from other team swore directly at on-field officials with little retribution. Conversely, the CCAA barred the Thunder from being at the Hillside Turf, expect for match play, after claiming members of the team were seen drinking and smoking outside their hotel. After speaking to hotel staff, Port vehemently denied any rules were broken.

“We were fingered out,” said Port. “We were stuck in the hotel from Monday to Sunday. “It was the longest six days that I’ve had to endure.”

Port plans to file a formal complaint with the CCAA in the coming days.