By Harsh Kumar
Led by three goals from star striker Chris Campoli, the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s soccer team took down the Queen’s Gaels on a 4-0 victory in their home opener at Downsview Park on Saturday afternoon.
The Bold are kicking off this season with high hopes of improving on last year’s loss in the quarterfinals to the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks. Much of the team’s core returned, while a few additions bolster the roster for the new season.
“The expectations are always to contend for banners. Contend for OUA titles and national titles…that’s always what we are aiming for. But with a new group comes new expectations,” said Bold head coach Filip Prostran.
The Bold have favoured well against the Gaels, having won nine of their last 10 matchups dating back to 2017. Their previous game was the Bold’s only loss in the 2023 regular season.
Momentum was in the Bold’s favour to start the game. After pushing for a few scoring chances, TMU was able to take an early 1-0 lead thanks to a goal from graduate midfielder Chris Campoli off a penalty shot in the 11th minute.
Campoli was the OUA’s top goalscorer last year with 12 goals in nine regular season games and was named to the OUA East division all-star team. Prostran revealed post-game that Campoli will be captain of the Bold this year alongside graduate forward Luca Di Marco.
Joining him on the team this year is his younger brother, first-year midfielder Michael Campoli.
“I’ve obviously been watching him since he was a baby growing up through the youth soccer system. I try to mentor him as much as possible, so for it to finally come full circle and be on the same field as him, it’s a great feeling” said Campoli.
While the Bold continued to keep the momentum throughout the first half, they were unable to capitalize on some of their better-scoring chances.
The Gaels pushed for the equalizer late in the first half but the Bold defence did their best to keep the Queens’ offence to the outside. Third-year goalkeeper Dante Ferraro made some key saves to keep TMU ahead 1-0 at the break.
The Gaels sought to tie the game early in the second half but it was the Bold who kept up the offensive pressure. Some good ball movement led to a chance for Campoli to place a beautiful strike past the keeper in the 53rd minute, earning the blue-and-gold a 2-0 lead.
With their backs against the wall, the Gaels pushed hard to get on the board, taking every shot they could but solid goalkeeping and defence from the Bold kept them contained.
The Gaels had a couple of Grade-A chances in the 75th minute but Ferraro kept his head up and kept them off the scoreboard.
Heading the other way on a rush, fourth-year midfielder Justin Santos was able to score off his own rebound in the 76th minute, extending the Bold’s lead to 3-0.
Santos missed all of last season due to injury, so Prostran was glad to have him and his experience as a player back.
“Santos is a really important part of our team,” said Prostran. “He works great and in transition, he’s really deadly.”
With the game coming down to its last minutes, the Bold kept the offensive pressure up and forced a penalty shot in the 96th minute. None other than Campoli stepped up once again and shot the penalty Panenka style to complete the hat trick and bring the game to a close.
“The goalie was running his mouth a little bit so I had to keep the guys in check,” Campoli said. “It’s something I’ve done before in the past in youth soccer so it’s just a little final touch.”
Though he joked with Campoli about sharing with teammates, Prostran had lots of praise for his high-scoring forward.
“[Campoli] is the cream of the crop when it comes to soccer in this province and country, nevermind university soccer. [He] just does what he does,” said Prostran.
UP NEXT: The Bold continue their season with a matchup against city rival the University of Toronto Varsity Blues on Sept. 6 at Varsity Stadium. The match is set to start at 8:15 p.m.
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