Defending champions begin new season on winning note
Ghosts trounce Panthers to start on right foot
WATERLOO — A championship did nothing to change his way of thinking.
Almost a year after his team’s unexpected victory in the Waterloo County senior boys’ final, Galt Ghosts captain Bruce Peynado said his team once again starts the high school soccer season with modest expectations. The Ghosts entered last year’s playoffs as the 11th-ranked team — from the lower-ranked First Division — and eventually won the championship with a 2-1 penalty kick victory over the second-ranked Eastwood Rebels.
No one, including Peynado, expected the Ghosts to achieve what they did.
“At the start of last season, we were just focused on finishing as high as we could in the second tier and hopefully go on to CWOSSA (Central Western Ontario ‘AA’ championship for schools with a student population of less than 1,000),” said Peynado on Tuesday.
“No one expected us to do what we did, but because of that, I think the younger players have high hopes for this year’s team, which I think there definitely is. Still, it’s the same as last season … we just want to finish as high as possible in the second tier and go from there.”
The Ghosts (2-0), with six returnees from last year’s squad, continued their fast start to the current WCSSAA season with a 6-1 victory over the Glenview Park Panthers (0-2) in First Division play at RIM Park. The Ghosts had the option of joining the upper-tier Premier Division but opted to stay put and will compete against the Elmira Lancers, Huron Heights Huskies, KCI Raiders, Southwood Sabres, Waterloo-Oxford Crusaders and Glenview Park.
The Premier Division, which also has eight teams, features the Bluevale Knights, Cameron Heights Golden Gaels, Forest Heights Trojans, Grand River Renegades, Jacob Hespeler Hawks, Sir John A. Macdonald Highlanders, Waterloo Vikings and Eastwood.
Robel Wubute used his head to score a pair of goals for Galt in their win over Glenview Park, including a perfect redirection from a Ben Mehlenbacher corner kick that made it 2-0 after 20 minutes.
Wubute also scored the game’s final goal with 10 minutes remaining.
Sameer Muhammad, Abdul Mannan, Clayton Krawchyk and Jahmarley Philip also scored for Galt, which dominated the first half and led 5-0 at the break.
“We’ve got a lot of energy. The younger guys coming in are doing a really good job of stepping up to the level of playing with the older guys,” said Peynado.
Glenview Park, which received strong performances from Braydon Service and Scott Mackay, showed dramatic improvement in the second half but the outcome was never in doubt. Mackay beat Ghosts goalkeeper Tyler Mohaupt on a 35-yard free kick for his team’s only score to make it 5-1.
“The first half, we didn’t really shine. We weren’t playing with purpose, we were tentative on the ball,” said Panthers head coach Quintino Grasso.
“In the second half, they changed their perspective. They started holding the ball and looking for a player to pass to. It made a whole world of difference.”
The Glenview Park roster is loaded with young talent, said Grasso, who simply hopes his team improves as the short season progresses.
Galt returns to action Thursday against KCI, and Glenview Park takes on Southwood.