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鈥檚 soccer team won a Pacwest regular season game 鈥� 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 鈥� Quest鈥檚 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.
鈥淵ou have no idea how happy we are right now,鈥� he said, with a big grin. 鈥淭he smile hasn鈥檛 left our faces and it won鈥檛 for a long time.鈥�
But the Kermodes didn鈥檛 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鈥檚 Max Tagesen who clinched the Kermodes long overdue victory.
鈥淚t was gut wrenching for us to be up a goal and then fall behind,鈥� said head coach Alexander Elliott. 鈥淏ut after the goal we were calm on the ball and didn鈥檛 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鈥檚 nice to get the win.鈥�
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.
鈥淭he kids we brought in this year are awesome,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e playing quality soccer and we鈥檙e passing the ball right through teams. We want to keep bringing our style to the play and let them adapt to us.鈥�
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鈥檚 nice to get a win but the team is all about building.
鈥淔or us it鈥檚 all about progression,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a step to where we want to be. Of course we鈥檙e excited about the win and for seniors who have been here a while it鈥檚 much deserved but we don鈥檛 want to win just one game, we want to build the program.鈥�
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鈥檚 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鈥檚 team, who still have yet to win a game in 2014.
The women鈥檚 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鈥檒l 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.
