Friday night the Concordia women’s soccer team lost their fifth game this season, against the UQTR Patriotes, ending with a final score of 3-0. It’s been a tough season for the Stingers, who are still looking for their first win.
The first half started off with the Stingers keeping the ball in the Patriotes’ corner. But fifteen minutes in, things seemed to take a turn for the worse. The rest of the half was spent in Concordia’s territory with the Stingers putting up a strong defensive line, but still being smothered by Patriotes players. 25 minutes into the first half, it looked like Concordia might have a chance at taking the upper hand when forward Andrea Davidson charged down the field and took her shot, but the ball went soaring just wide of the net. This was the start of a running trend for both teams. Each had a number chances to score but just couldn’t seem to get it in the bag. Stingers’ goaltender Fanny Berthiaume had a number of spectacular saves before the Patriotes managed to get a shot past her towards the end of the first half.
In the second half Concordia tried to regroup in order to catch up, but after a discouraging first half it wasn’t easy. Try as they might, the Stingers could not seem to keep the ball out of their corner. Midway through the second half Concordia lost focus, resulting in the Patriotes scoring two more goals.
Though they may not be having their best season, Coach Jorge Sanchez seems confident that things will turn around for the Stingers. After last year’s dismal season the Stingers experienced a 50 per cent turn over, with most of the players coming from outside the province.
“They are a young team still learning how to play at the university level,” Sanchez explained. “They are still learning how to play together.”
“I’ve coached teams that won all the time but didn’t have the promise these girls do. We told them not to worry about winning or losing, it’s the process that counts,” he said, emphasizing that “success is a relative term.”
The Stingers next face the Citadins Friday, Oct. 2 at UQAM at 6:30 p.m.
