The men’s soccer team is back on top.

The Gaels returned to first place in the OUA East division with a 3-1 victory over the Royal Military College Paladins on Saturday.

The win tied the Gaels (7-1-1) up with the Carleton Ravens (7-2-1), with only five games remaining in the regular season.

Head coach Chris Gencarelli said the team played well against their cross-town rival.

“We got back to creating scoring opportunities. In the game against Carleton we didn’t generate much going forward.”

The Gaels started the game off with heavy offensive pressure. Patrick Zanetti opened up the scoring and was followed by Nathan Klemencic, which gave the team a 2-0 lead heading into halftime.

Queen’s outshot their opponents 5-2 and had four corner kicks to RMC’s one in the first.

The team let up some of its pressure in the second half, but was still able to secure the win.

“In the second half we got a little bit away from keeping the ball and were at times under pressure from RMC,” Gencarelli said. “They came out strong in the second half — they had a couple of opportunities to score.”

The Paladins’ only tally came late, but forward Eric Koskins tacked a last minute goal to finish with a two-goal edge.

“RMC is a different team to play at home,” Gencarelli said. “We generally go to RMC and are able to get three points, but it’s always been a challenging game.”

With their strong season results to date, Gencarelli said that the team’s primary focus is to stay mentally sharp.

“We need to accomplish short term goals we set each week,” he said.

“With the responsibilities of a student athlete, just making sure the hour and a half we spend every day practicing is well used.”

The Gaels will face off against the Toronto Varsity Blues and the Ryerson Rams next weekend, ranked third and fourth in the OUA East Division. Gencarelli said the weekend will be important to secure a high playoff seed.