The sting of defeat: Men’s soccer Wolves fall to Seneca in bronze medal game

The Algonquin Wolves men’s soccer team lost 2-0 to the Seneca Sting at home Oct. 26 to finish fourth in the OCAA playoffs.

While the Wolves could not find the back of net during this game, it wasn’t for a lack of trying as they recorded 17 shots on net, compared to the Sting, who had seven.

“I think we had a couple of chances that we could have definitely put away,” Wolves captain Cristian Aviles-Molina said.

The two goals for the Sting came from Lucas Basmadjian at the 28th minute and Michael Pellegrini at the 79th minute, but the Wolves kept pressing to the end.

“Not once did we think we were out of it,” Aviles-Molina said. “Even when we went two-nil down, we were still trying to get something out of it.”

Toward the end of the game, star Wolves player Alessandro Vivolo rolled his ankle.

“The extent of the injury is unknown, but it is most likely sprained,” head coach Angus Wong said in an email statement.

Sting head coach Michael Aquino said they knew facing Algonquin would be difficult, especially on their home turf.

“We knew that they would come with some good spirit, and we had to match that and just refocus after a tough one yesterday,” Aquino said. “To understand that there’s obviously still something to play for and we wanted to finish with a memorable experience and a medal, which we did.”

The Sting lost 3-0 in the semifinal on Oct. 25 to the Humber Hawks.

Following the bronze medal game, the Conestoga Condors, who defeated the Wolves 3-2 on Oct. 25, won the gold medal, beating the Hawks 2-0.

It was announced during the gold medal ceremony that both the Condors and the Hawks are heading to the CCAA championships in Saint-Lambert, Que. scheduled for Nov. 5 to Nov. 8.

The Condors spot was guaranteed after winning the gold and the Hawks will get a wild card spot.

For the Wolves, however, it was the last game of the season and the end of the line for their graduating players.

Wong said this was the most disappointing part of the game’s outcome.

“I’m disappointed for them the most because they contributed a lot to this program in their time here,” Wong said. “I think they deserve to go out with more success than what we had at this championship.”

Aviles-Molina is one student who won’t be back with the team. Despite the loss, he’s grateful for his time playing at Algonquin.

“(It) brought a lot of love back into the game for me,” Aviles-Molina said. “I’m thankful for Angus for believing in me these past four years as well, thankful for my teammates that I’ve had. You know, I’ve been through a lot, a lot of roller coasters, a lot of wins, a lot of losses, but it was a good journey, it was a good time.”