On a personal level, the 2025 OUA Soccer Season wasn't all bad for Olly Sankar.

In just his second year with the Laurentian Voyageurs, the Vaughan native was named to the OUA East second all-star team. Unfortunately, the award was of little consolation to the 20 year-old third year Sports Administration student who is driven by team success.

"Last year was quite disappointing on many levels," said Sankar, looking to put the 2-7-3 campaign behind him as Laurentian prepares to open their 2026 schedule Sunday afternoon opposite the RMC (Royal Military College) Paladins.

"A lot of what went on was sub-par. I think there is a lot of optimism that we can perform better this year."

Laurentian is but one year removed from having made the playoffs in 2024, a record of 4-5-3 enough to squeeze them into the sixth and final placement. The hope this year is that plenty of new means a return to post-season play.

New head coach Brendan Teeling is sure to add a few new wrinkles to the Voyageurs' approach, including an adjustment that sees Sankar moving from his traditional centerback position to more of an attacking midfield slot.

"You get the ball in a lot more different positions," said Sankar. "At the back, you see the whole field. It's quicker decisions in the midfield, but I like the challenge it presents, for sure."

As much as anything, Sankar is keen to hit the pitch every day with a smile on his face. "I don't always love the sport of soccer, which seems funny to say," he stated. "I'm having fun now, a lot of fun now, but through my teenage years, my passion for it would come and go."

As for the upcoming season, Sankar acknowledged that the Voyageurs have to capitalize more when opposing teams are making one of their longest trips to the season to a venue that few adore.

"Besides RMC, we are the only team that plays on grass," he said. "A lot of teams coming up here are not used to that. We train every day on the same grass pitch. We have to be better at home."

The Laurentian women will face RMC Sunday at noon while the Voyageurs men and the Paladins complete the double-header with a 2:15 p.m. start time.

Joining Olly Sankar on the 2026 Laurentian Voyageurs men's soccer roster are Dante Valdos, Theo Vieira, Aidan Downey, Daniel Alexa, Sam Howard, Aziz Traore, Moshood Babalola, Joseph Martins, Samuel Ekichi, Jérémie Bourbonnais, Liam Binks, Lukas Morin, Dominic Prempeh, Maliq Olanrewaju, Kieren Callaghan, Dylan Seha, Blake Rosener, Joey Coppola, Mattaois Maffei, Kaleb Melnyk, Nate Shull, Lucas Cidade and Matthew Bodnar.