Hundreds of fans packed Warrior Field on Saturday, Sept. 12, for Black and Gold Day, as the Waterloo Warriors’ men’s and women’s soccer teams both beat the Algoma Thunderbirds in a home doubleheader kicking off the 2026-2027 season.
The men’s side ground out a tense 1-0 win in front of 925 fans, a game defined by missed chances at both ends. Algoma’s Alessandro Cenedese had a penalty kick saved by Lorin-Alexander Lopez in the 13th minute, and Waterloo’s Noah Medeiros returned the favour with a missed penalty of his own in the 48th.
Despite out-shooting Algoma 17-13 on target, the Warriors couldn’t find the breakthrough until substitute Kyler Monterroso buried his first goal of the season in the 76th minute to seal it. Lopez backstopped the clean sheet with four saves.
The women’s side routing Algoma 6-2 in front of 1,050 fans. Rylin Matheson opened the scoring in the 17th minute, and Priyanka Chakravarti made it 2-1 right at the halftime whistle off an assist by Evelyn Zhu.
Aya Naamani took over from there, turning a 50th-minute penalty kick before adding a second goal seven minutes later. Ceci Mejia and Kyra Chan closed out the scoring late, as Waterloo out-shot Algoma 31-4 for the match.
Before kickoff, students flooded the stadium grounds for the annual Orientation Carnival before marching into Warrior Field surrounded by a sea of black and gold gear.
The soccer doubleheader wasn’t the only varsity action that weekend:
- Baseball: W, 8-5 and L, 6-11 at Western Mustangs (doubleheader, London)
- Men’s Rugby: W, 28-21 at Toronto Varsity Blues
- Football: L, 22-49 at Queen’s Gaels (Kingston)
- Baseball: W, 12-2 and W, 15-0 vs. Windsor Lancers (doubleheader, Kitchener)
- Field Hockey: W, 4-2 at Western Mustangs (London)
- Women’s Rugby: W, 25-10 over Trent Excalibur (Warrior Field)
Both soccer programs opened strong against Algoma as OUA play ramps up across the conference this fall.
