X-Men Soccer on the Path to Success Once Again

After being named AUS champions last season, X-men soccer is back and looking to do it again with a nearly undefeated 7-1-2 season. Leading the league in goals scored, shutouts, and shots per game, the boys are on track to another victory.

In an interview with the head coach of the X-men, Graham Kennedy described, “I knew we had a good team before the season started, we were good last year, and we didn’t lose very many players, so we had full expectations that we would be a strong side this year.” When asked about the difference between last year’s team, Kennedy noted, “It’s a slightly different team from last year; we lost 5 or 6 players. We had some leadership walk out the door, which is always a concern, but our players are a year older, a year more physically and mentally mature, and one year better… one more year of experience.”

He also highlighted two exciting additions to the team: Noah MacIntyre, from Georgetown, ON, and Luka Robichaud Allah, from Moncton, NB. Both of which Kennedy believes can help the team to achieve AUS championship status once again, expressing that, “Noah’s been an excellent addition in mid-field” and “Luka has added some speed to an already fast team.”

Returning players, Kyle Cordeiro and Logan Rieck have also made their mark this season, accumulating an astounding 21 points between the two. When asked about the role of these individuals on the field, Kennedy described that “Kyle has always been influential – a leader by example. He’s not one of those boisterous, vocal leaders – when he speaks people listen – but he is more of a leader by example. Logan Rieck is a little bit like that as well, Kyle may have more goals, but I think Logan is more of a playmaker… they complement each other really well.”

Kennedy also recognized the hard work of the team defensively, “often our top statistical players are attackers, and they get a lot of attention because of the numbers they put up, but if you look at our team, one of our biggest strengths is our defending and our mid-field. We’ve got a lot of strong players throughout the squad, and we’ve been consistently ranked in the top ten now for probably a decade. We have high expectations around our team – players that come in here are players that want to play in a good program, so we tend to attract high-character guys with good skill sets”.

Closing off the interview, Kennedy emphasized, “I’m really proud of these guys, they’re a tremendous group of young men and I think they represent the school in the best possible way.” The team will take the field again on October 18 at Moncton University, where they look to get back on track after falling 2-1 to Cape Breton University last Wednesday in their first loss of the season. But with only two games left in the regular season, the X-men seem a top contender for yet another AUS banner.