Concordia’s men’s soccer players received a blow to their confidence on Sunday as they lost 3-0 to Laval’s team at the Concordia Stadium.
They went into the game with high spirits and great energy but they couldn’t break Laval’s focus. The opposing team gained early possession of the ball and kept constant pressure on Concordia’s defence.
Fouls marred the proceedings of the game during the first half as the physical nature of the competition escalated.
Both Stingers’ forward Alfred Moody and midfielder Peter Bow were handed yellow cards.
Despite Laval’s relentless attacks, Concordia’s team remained calm and played well. “We’re coming off a two-game winning streak, so we still felt fairly confident,” said Stingers captain David Cerasuolo.
Nonetheless, they were playing against a respectable opponent. Laval is the top team in the country.
Thirty minutes into the first half, the Stingers showed their great passing skills as they made many accurate, clean passes. Unfortunately, they couldn’t convert them into a goal.
A few minutes later, the Stingers gained possession of the ball again and attacked. However, they were once again unable to firmly control the ball at Laval’s goal.
In the last few minutes of the first half, when the crowd began to get fidgety, waiting for a goal, the other team delivered.
Laval midfielder Julien Priol sent the ball soaring into the Concordia net, shocking the Stingers into wakefulness.
The second half of the game wasn’t eventful until 35 minutes before the end. Laval forward Gabriel Moreau sprang towards the net and kicked the ball past Concordia’s goalkeeper.
The Stingers began clambering to retain some control of the pitch, but Laval widened the gap even further with a third and final goal. Desperation slowly started to mark the Stingers’ performance.
In some cases, the pressure brought out the players’ skills. The game was 20 minutes away from ending when forward Matthijs Eppinga sprinted towards Laval’s goal in a very promising attack. Members of the audience were on the edge of their seats, expecting a goal, only to sit back in disappointment. His shot missed the net.
“We could have gotten a better result today, if we had just played better,” remarked Cerasuolo.
But the rest of the game wasn’t all about missed chances. The audience got themselves a dose of action when Concordia’s goalkeeper, in a lunge at the ball, crashed into a Laval player in mid-air. The player was slightly injured and the game in a state of momentary confusion.
Soon after, the referee’s whistle signaled the end of the game and of any minimal chances Concordia had at evening the score.
“We have the chance to get to the playoffs, but we don’t have enough leeway to drop that many points and still make the playoffs,” said Cerasuolo as he was leaving the pitch.
The Stingers’ next game will be against the Université de Montréal on Friday, Oct. 22 at the Concordia stadium.
