BY SCOTT
HADDOW
Laurentian University men's soccer team head coach Carlo
Castrechino has his hands dirty and for good reason.
Piece by piece, he's rebuilding the Voyageurs squad.
Last season the team went winless in five games (0-4-1) and
eventually missed the playoffs with a record of 3-5-2.
The squad was slammed in the off-season by the graduation of
numerous stars and key cogs in the machine.
Gone are steady vets Giuseppe Politi (the team's top
striker with five goals), and reliable players Matt Boulton,
Ryan Bradley and Steve Soutar.
Replacing the vets will be a slew of rookies, 15 in all,
which will make or break the team in 2006.
"The team is much younger this year, but we have a core of
about six solid veterans returning," said head coach
Castrechino. "How quickly the rookies adapt to the OUA game
will define this squad. It's a much faster and more
physical game than they're used to. This will determine
what kind of season we have."
The Voyageurs enjoyed a respectable exhibition season, going
2-1, but there's plenty of work to be done before another
OUA Championship banner hangs in the clutches of Laurentian
players. (Laurentian features 10 OUA titles since 1971-72)
"We lost quality last year...but we make up for it with team
speed and more of a a determined work ethic," said Castrechino.
"Team play will dictate our success. Being a young team, we
will have to battle hard for 90+ minutes every game. We want to
make it a challenge for other teams to play us. Last year, I
felt too many teams played us and hardly broke a sweat."
The men open their season with a bang as they host Carleton
University on Sunday at 12 noon. The game will be contested at
Cambrian College.
The game is subject to change to the Laurentian Field if the
university staff union strike doesn't strike. Check
www.luvoyageurs.com
for up-to-date information on game locations.
Carleton holds the OUA championship belt and is currently
ranked as the fifth best team in Canada.
"Our first game is against the defending OUA champions and
it will be a good test for us right off the bat," said
Castrechino. "We need to respect them, but not fear them. We
will want to make Carleton work for any points they try to take
from us and hopefully, we can pull off an upset."
Rookies such as forwards Brent Huffels and Steve Rachkowski
and midfielders Adam Gauthier, Andrew Posteraro and Jamie Cuddy
all come with well-advertised talents.
"They all possess good skill and speed," stated Castrechino.
With the team bursting at the seam with fresh faces,
veterans such as captain Patrick Murphy, midfielders Dan Keir
and Mike Asunmaa and forward Trevor Cuddy must step up to
supply leadership and grit.
"They have worked hard this off-season to come to camp in
great shape and have really taken a leadership role on the
field," said the bench boss. "This year, the team will need
their experience for this young squad to have any success."
The Voyageurs are gunning for a playoff spot this season.
"It should be a fun season," said Castrechino. "The coaching staff is looking forward to the challenge. There's more youthful enthusiasm from the players and the team camaraderie has been excellent. We're in a rebuilding phase, but we're going to be a more competitive squad and hopefully pull off some surprises along the way."
