Women’s soccer Wolves beat Fleming 5-0 in home opener

The Algonquin Wolves women’s soccer team won 5-0 against the Fleming Phoenix in their Sept. 14 home opener.

From the start of the match, the Wolves’ game was fiercely offensive, keeping the ball mostly on the Phoenix’s side of the field. Throughout the game, the Phoenix struggled to push the ball into Wolves territory.

Wolves striker Jordan Blades-McHenry scored the first goal of the match, ending the first half with a 1-0 lead for Algonquin.

“We got a bit frustrated that we didn’t shoot well in the first half,” said assistant coach Steve Ball after the game. “But in the second half, we opened them up a bit.”

Keeping up the offensive pressure, the Wolves dominated the Phoenix in the second half. In the final 20 minutes of the game, Wolves striker Olivia Lambert scored four goals.

Lambert credits this performance to good nutrition and her team’s strong camaraderie.

“I had a really good breakfast,” said Lambert. “Eggs, bacon, ketchup and feta. But just the atmosphere in the change room really gets you. We got music going. We’re cheering. We’re dancing. We are a pumped-up team this year. We’re playing for each other. It’s a team atmosphere that makes you play good.”

Despite the Wolves’ victory, head coach Basil Phillips feels the team still has room for improvement.

“It was a good performance overall,” said Phillips. “We’ve just got to be more decisive with our finishing. Too many of our shots just didn’t hit the target.”

Wolves midfielder Kassandra Da Cruz was of the same opinion.

“Our shots were a little bit terrible,” said Da Cruz. “But by the second half, we were in it. At the end, we picked it up and did really well.”