In the fall of 2011, the Occupy Wall Street protests began in New York City.
The movement aimed to raise awareness about social and economic inequality worldwide.
The fall of 2011 was also the last time the Quest Kermodes men’s soccer team won a Pacwest regular season game – until Sunday (Sept. 14).
Quest cracked a winless streak that spanned over 32 games, dozens of players, three years and two coaches.
One of those players was defender Derek McKinnon, who was a fresh faced rookie back on Oct. 23, 2011 – Quest’s last regular season win.
McKinnon is now a trusted veteran on the squad and was overjoyed to beat the Langara Falcons 2-1 at home.
“You have no idea how happy we are right now,” he said, with a big grin. “The smile hasn’t left our faces and it won’t for a long time.”
But the Kermodes didn’t make it easy on themselves to secure the win. Quest held a 1-0 lead for most of the game but the Falcons answered back with about 10 minutes left in the game. However, minutes later it was Quest’s Max Tagesen who clinched the Kermodes long overdue victory.
“It was gut wrenching for us to be up a goal and then fall behind,” said head coach Alexander Elliott. “But after the goal we were calm on the ball and didn’t get too down or excited after the game was tied. We kept possession for over 30 seconds to absorb and suck some players in and once we released, Max was wide open. The guys really kept their cool in a tough situation and it’s nice to get the win.”
Along with McKinnon, it was the first win in a while for veteran players Oscar Bonilla, Laith Matlak, Kevin Berna and Taylor Lehnart. McKinnon said the young talent on Quest bodes well for this year and in the future.
“The kids we brought in this year are awesome,” he said. “We’re playing quality soccer and we’re passing the ball right through teams. We want to keep bringing our style to the play and let them adapt to us.”
Goal scorers Tagesen and JB McEown, along with goalkeeper Colton Cook were three of the players McKinnon alluded to. All three played big roles in the win.
Elliott said it’s nice to get a win but the team is all about building.
“For us it’s all about progression,” he said. “It’s a step to where we want to be. Of course we’re excited about the win and for seniors who have been here a while it’s much deserved but we don’t want to win just one game, we want to build the program.”
The win capped off a solid weekend for Quest, after they played the KPU Eagles to a 1-1 draw on Saturday (Sept. 13). The men’s team sits in fourth place in the Pacwest with a record of two wins, two losses and one tie. Earlier this week, Quest was awarded a win after it was ruled that Capilano used an ineligible player during their game on Sept. 6.
It was a different story for the women’s team, who still have yet to win a game in 2014.
The women’s team lost 2-1 to Langara on Sunday, after playing the Eagles to a 1-1 draw on Saturday. Gabriella Villasenor scored the lone goal for Quest on Sunday but it was too little, too late for the women.
Quest has only scored five goals in the first five games and sit fifth in the Pacwest.
They’ll get a chance to get back on the winning track on Saturday (Sept. 20) when arch-rival Capilano University comes to town. The women kick off at 1 p.m., with the guys hitting the pitch at 3 p.m. The teams then travel to Coquitlam for games against Douglas College on Sunday (Sept. 21).
For more information on Quest athletics, visit www.questkermodes.ca.
