Before Andrew Latty pulled on a red, white, and black Carleton jersey for the first time last season, he had high expectations of himself.
Heading into his rookie campaign — one in which he ultimately scored eight goals — the Ottawa native knew that he could be an impact player for the men’s soccer team.
“When I tried out this summer, my goal was to be the leading scorer on the team and in the league as well, so I definitely put some pressure on myself,” he said in the midst of last season.
But even he didn’t expect the success he would have in his second year.
Latty has been named both a first-team all-star and MVP for the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East division.
The powerful striker has been a goal-scoring machine this season for the Ravens, finishing tied atop the national scoring charts with 17 goals.
Not only was that total the joint-best in the country, it also smashed a Carleton men’s soccer record that hadn’t been broken in a decade: the single season scoring mark.
Former striker Marc Lapointe — who is currently the team manager of the Ottawa Fury Premier Development League (PDL) team — set the record with 13 goals during a magnificent 2002-03 regular season.
Ten years and a few close calls later, that total has finally been surpassed.
During his record-breaking campaign, Latty has been giving defenders nightmares with his blistering pace and strong physical presence.
At “140 pounds soaking wet,” Lapointe said he would have “loved” to have those two attributes during his playing days. But he said there is one more quality that makes Latty such a dominant force on the pitch – and it has nothing to do with his physical abilities.
“He’s just hungry and he just wants it more than everyone else. There could be nothing happening and he’ll get that look in his eye and that competitive edge takes over and he’ll just go and score.”
Amidst all the acclaim he is receiving for his fantastic season, Latty reserves special praise for his teammates when discussing his success.
“I scored 11 goals in my first seven games, which is something that is unheard of. Sometimes the ball just falls your way and I think I’ve got a lot of fortunate bounces thanks to the work of the other guys and I’ve been there to capitalize,” he said.
While Latty is quick to admit that the record isn’t on his mind, he’s making it awfully difficult for any future Raven to even come close to it.
After breaking the record with two first-half goals against the Laurentian Voyageurs on Oct. 7 in Sudbury — a match that ended in a 3-1 victory for Carleton — Latty wasted no time extending his lead.
And he did it in style.
In the Ravens’ 10-0 annihilation of the Trent Excalibur on Oct. 13, Latty recorded a first-half hat trick to bring his tally to 17 on the season. All three of his goals came in the opening 22 minutes, including one that embodies all of his best qualities as a player.
It all started with a Trent corner being floated into the Ravens’ box.
As soon as Carleton managed to get the ball to safety with a long, high clearance down the field, you could feel the excitement in the crowd start to build. Sitting just inside his own half during the corner, Latty raced on to the clearance and found himself in a one-on-one situation.
There was only going to be one outcome after that.
Using his breakaway speed, the Ravens striker got to the ball first. He then sent the defender crashing to the turf with a powerful shoulder-to-shoulder challenge, before calmly slotting the ball home beyond a helpless Trent goalkeeper.
It all looked so easy. It all looked so familiar.
Fans of the Carleton Ravens are hoping that same scenario continues to play out for the foreseeable future.
With three years of eligibility remaining, Latty – who is currently majoring in law and hoping to obtain a post-graduate degree from Carleton after his bachelor’s — is very much in the hunt for Lapointe’s all-time scoring record of 45 goals in 43 games. He currently stands at 25 goals in two seasons.
“Latty is only in his second year, so he has a great chance,” Lapointe said.
“I hope he does [break the all-time record] because he’s a great player.”
