The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men’s soccer team came out with an unfortunate result in the first Battle of Waterloo game this season this past Saturday against the Waterloo Warriors, dropping the game 3-1. Laurier now sits 0-2 in the Battle of Waterloo before the big football game with the women’s soccer team also dropping their match by a score of 1-0.
The Golden Hawks started the game on the right foot, as they scored just eight minutes into the match on a goal from Antonio Hecimovic, Laurier’s first goal in five games.
Hecimovic, a third striker for the Golden Hawks, has tallied six shots this season, making him second on the team behind Glorious Okpali who was seven.
Though the game seemed to be in the Golden Hawks’ favour for the first time this season, Waterloo answered with one of their own midway through the first half.
Laurier stood their ground, even though Waterloo outshot the team nine to four, but rookie goalie Jefferey Omoregie-Sanni managed to keep the game under control.
Even with 17 goals against, Omoregie-Sanni is first in the OUA West for saves. He has had 45 shots against him in total, and he aims for a first clean sheet against his opponent.
Veteran Golden Hawks defender Tahrik Rodriques attempted to be a brick wall for the back, but players from Waterloo like Sebastian Guerrieri dominated for the opponent.
Guerrieri scored the second and third goals of the game for the Warriors, bringing his season total to six goals in six games — more than the Hawks have scored as a whole.
The third goal of the game came just five minutes into the second half, and though Laurier may have felt defeated, they stood their ground and held the Warriors scoreless for the remaining 40 minutes.
Waterloo is one of the top ranked teams in the OUA this season, sitting third in the OUA west with a 4-1-1 record, while Laurier is tied for eighth with Algoma, as they both have zero points this season.The upcoming weekend looks to be a turning point in Laurier’s season, however, as they play the fifth and sixth ranked teams in Windsor and Western.
The Windsor Lancers have a 3-2-1 record and 11 goals for, while the Western Mustangs gave a 2-1-2 record, with eight goals for.
Laurier has had to face nationally ranked York twice this season already, who sit on top of the OUA West, and a Guelph team who is in second.
Coming off a 5-game scoreless streak and finally finding the back of the net against Waterloo, Laurier will look to continually improve their gameplay as they head on the road to play Windsor on Sept. 14 and Western on Sept. 16.
Laurier also faces eighth place Algoma the following weekend, so the opportunity to pick up 12 points in the next two weeks is the turning point Laurier has been searching for all season.
Even with 17 goals against, Omoregie-Sanni is first in the OUA West for saves. He has had 45 shots against him in total, and he aims for a first clean sheet against his opponent.
