It all starts with the top scorer on the HFX Wanderers going deep into the box against Valour FC. João Morelli passes the ball back to Alessandro Riggi. Almost perfectly centered at the top of the box, midfielder Pierre Lamothe patiently waits for a pass, unnoticed and unmarked. The ball takes a bounce off the turf, then while bouncing back in the air, Lamothe absolutely smashes the ball with a volley into the back of the net for his first goal wearing Wanderers blue.
“Honestly, I didn’t have time to think too much, it happened very fast,” recalls Pierre Lamothe.
It was a huge goal for the Wanderers, giving them three points in the standings in their final match of Kickoff in Winnipeg. Lamothe was also the first player to solve Valour goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois, who had a league-record 11 saves in the 1-0 Wanderers win.
“The way I scored that first goal was amazing, I couldn’t have imagined scoring a better goal than that,” says Lamothe.
After the match, he got lots of love from his friends back home in Montreal and had a chance to call his parents to celebrate the milestone.
“Honestly this year, I didn’t think a lot about scoring goals or making passes. For the first season, it’s more about getting minutes and performing well first of all. I think the goal is just a bonus for all the work over the years,” says Lamothe, who has already become a valuable part of the team.
Lamothe reunites with former teammates
Part of what made his transition to the Wanderers so seamless was familiarity with a couple of his teammates. Lamothe played in university with the Montreal Carabins alongside midfielder Omar Kreim, now in his second season with the team, and center back Kareem Sow, also a newcomer to the squad.
“It’s great to play with former teammates, it helps with the chemistry on and off the field. We spend a lot of time together, it’s helped me settle into the team and be more comfortable,” says Lamothe.
Right away, he felt comfortable and welcomed by all the leaders on the team. While the Wanderers players would like to be higher in the league table, Lamothe says the spirits are still good with the team and having that extra boost from the fans will only help.
“It’s just good vibes. We’re not where we want to be in the standings but I’m confident we can turn the situation around,” says the midfielder from Longueuil, directly across from Montreal on the St. Lawrence River.
Longueuil is also where Lamothe played semi-professional football for three seasons in the Première Ligue de soccer du Québec (PLSQ). After playing in the academy system for CF Montréal, formerly Montreal Impact, he had the chance to play against men as a 19-year-old.
“The three years I spent in the PLSQ helped me a lot with my experience playing against older players. It’s more of a physical game. I needed time to adapt at the beginning,” says Lamothe, adding playing at that level has helped him in the CPL.
The Invisible Preparations
His journey to the Wanderers really started as a 14-year-old when he joined the Montreal Impact academy. That’s when he realized he wanted to become a professional footballer and really began putting in the work to realize that dream.
It went beyond just being the best player out on the pitch to stepping up his game away from the ball. He learned the importance of sleep, eating properly and all the little things that go into boosting your performance around training and matches.
“We call it the invisible preparations,” says Lamothe of what he’s worked on the last couple years. “That’s why I’m here now.”
Now that he has a professional contract and is playing for the Wanderers, he wants to continue to improve and gain more experience.
“I would like to get some more minutes, but I think I’m on the good path. I’ll keep working in training to play as much as possible and get more experience and help the team,” the midfielder says.
While Lamothe didn’t play in the first two matches at the Wanderers Grounds this season, the supporters who braved the pouring rain, lit flares, and chanted non-stop made a good first impression.
“Even if I didn’t have the chance to play in the first game, I got to experience it from the bench. It was amazing, the support we had, all 90 minutes. I hope it continues and we’ll have many great moments in the future at the Wanderers Grounds,” says Lamothe, reflecting on the 2-1 win over Atlético Ottawa.
Lamothe has a little bit of insight into the next Wanderers home match, in the first round of the Canadian Championship against current men’s PLSQ champions AS Blainville. Lamothe was on the team last year, making one appearance in a season shortened by the pandemic.
“I’m looking forward to that game, I think Blainville is a good PSLQ team, one of the best. This year they have a lot of young players. I think in a match like that, they will come very hungry. They will give everything. I know it’ll be a hard game, I know it’s a well-coached team. We expect a battle on August 17th.”
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