A strong defensive performance led Centennial College to a 2-0 victory in its home opener against Fleming, on Tuesday night.
The Colts moved to 2-0, with a previous win at St. Lawrence College, in a season condensed into a short time period.
Justin Alvarez, defensive midfielder, thought the club was a little shaky at the beginning but pulled out of it thanks to coach Ron Clarke.
“Once coach said that the midfield in our build out [and] is what’s key to our attack, we remembered what we worked on in practice for the past few days and after that it really gelled,” said Alvarez, afterwards.
With many new players, it didn’t leave much time for first-year coach Clarke to prepare his squad which put pressure on the players themselves to build that chemistry.
“You know the beautiful part about the team that we have here is that we really get along. There’s a lot of camaraderie, big brotherhood, especially us three in the midfield,” said Alvarez.
After an underwhelming first half where Fleming Knights ended on the front foot, the Colts came out flying in the second, drawing an early penalty.
Brandon Thorpe, who looked lively during his time on the pitch, won and converted the penalty with great composure putting Centennial up 1-0.
The offence really clicked afterwards, creating several goal scoring opportunities which came through a front three of Thorpe, Anton Ratushnyy, and Keith Dadson.
With Fleming looking to equalize, Ratushnyy takes the pressure off as he found himself through on goal after some great pressing on the backline. He was able to slot the ball past the keeper to put his team up two.
One of the newest members of the roster, Ratushnyy, had a big impact with his energy and speed, it hasn’t taken much time for him to build chemistry with his new teammates.
The Colts have a full week to prepare as they head into what will be a difficult matchup against a strong Durham side away from home, Sept. 29, 8:15 p.m.