A week into the season and Concordia women’s soccer team has yet to claim its first win. The team lost 3-0 to McGill’s undefeated Martlets at Concordia Stadium on Sunday.
The Stingers were playing with more than just the match on their minds, as it was the fifth annual Erica Cadieux memorial. The honorary game pays tribute to Cadieux, a former Stinger who died tragically in a car accident in 2006, and the team was trying its hardest to win in her name.
Early into the game, McGill forward Alexandra Morin-Boucher converted a pass marking her sixth goal of the season.
The Stingers’ head coach Jorge Sanchez was not too impressed. “It was 1-0 on a really dumb mistake we made,” he said.
Once McGill gained the lead, the Stingers fell back to fiercely defend their goal.
McGill had a much greater advantage in shots over Concordia. “We couldn’t put our offensive side of the game together,” said Sanchez.
The Martlets were constantly advancing throughout the first half, but the Stingers’ defence remained unbreakable. The Concordia men’s soccer players sat scattered amidst the crowd and cheered on their female counterparts throughout, shouting out advice and expressing their support.
Almost 17 minutes into the second half, McGill was awarded a penalty kick. They now had a 2-0 lead and the Stingers were scrambling to gain some control over the pitch. Confidence amongst the Stingers was faltering, but they didn’t give up.
“Do we keep defending? Or do we try to at least get one goal so we start to push players forward?” said Sanchez when reflecting on the performance of his players.
The confusion on Concordia’s part was apparent as four minutes later McGill scored its third goal, insuring their success and putting the game out of Concordia’s reach.
Sanchez is confident that as long as the team works hard they’ll perform better. “Right now we have to limit the amount of mistakes we make in dangerous areas. We must out-work and out-think the opponent team.”
The Stingers next game will be played against Laval on Friday, Sept. 24 at 6:30 p.m.
