Wolves striker out to prove doubters wrong
Michael Solomon is driven to succeed on the soccer field.
“Every single one of us here was never given anything and I was always told I was not the best at this and not the best at that,” the St. Catharines Club Roma Wolves’ striker said. “People always get jealous but I know what I am capable of and that is the next level.”
The 20-year-old Niagara Falls native agrees he has a boulder-sized chip on his shoulder and he uses it to his advantage.
“In the game if you don’t have that chip on your shoulder, you are kind of done out there,” he said, prior to the Wolves’ Friday game against visiting Alliance United. “You have to be confident you can score at any moment in the game.”
He’s confident but not arrogant.
“It’s not that I think I am a big shot or anything like that, especially towards the guys. I am humble during the game but you have to know you are the man and when you have to be the man.”
Solomon was the man for the Wolves in League1 Ontario Men’s Premier Division last season, netting five goals. He used that experience to propel himself to an excellent season with the Brock men’s team.
“Roma was the best thing for all of us because we had a great warmup for the Brock season,” the Saint Paul alumnus said. “It was great. We made big improvements from the start of the year. We were a brand new team and the level we were playing at, it took a little time but slowly start to figure it out and we ended up having great chemistry.”
He scored five goals in nine games for Brock to tie for the league lead and he was named an Ontario University Athletics’ all-star
So far this season, he has two goals for the Wolves.
“It has been a little bit of a rough start but we are on to bigger and better things,” he said of himself and the Wolves’ 1-3-2 start heading into Friday’s game.
He is anything but discouraged.
“As crazy as it sounds, I like when I am struggling because I know there is always room to grow and there’s a shitload of work to be done,” he said. “I am ready to do the work and I know what I am capable of and what I can be.”
Solomon and the team are still getting used to what head coach Federico Turriziani is looking for.
“It is a little but tougher for me because we play a formation with only one striker and I am forced to do a little bit more defensive work,” he said. “It is just finding the channels to get the ball and figuring out how the guys want to be played whether it is into space or to their feet. We are slowly but surely getting there.”
Solomon dislocated his toe in his team’s home game last Friday and is coming to the end of 10 days of wearing a walking boot. He has dealt with injuries a lot in his career.
“I have had some back and ankle injuries but overall I am getting a lot better now,” he said. “Dealing with them is more of a mental thing that anything. Knowing that you can’t be with the guys on days like today when you want to go out and do you best is tough but I believe in the guys.”
He has high hopes for his soccer career.
“I have two more years of OAU left with Brock and I am going to try my best to do as well as I can. The end goal for all of us is the CPL and I am trying to figure out a way there.”
Solomon played with Niagara United before moving to the States to play with Empire Canada’s Soccer Academy. He then played one year for Club Italia before joining the Wolves
Wolves technical director Davide Massafra likes having him on the team.
“He’s one of the best players and offensively he is a scorer. He is very good at hitting the ball and I like his attitude. He is a hard worker and he just needs to be patient and keep working with coach Federico.”
The Roma Wolves fell to 1-4-2 in the League1 Ontario Men’s Premier Division play following a 1-0 loss to Alliance United (5-1) Friday. Nikola Stakic scored the lone goal in the 52nd minute.
