The Concordia Stingers men’s soccer team dropped a 4-0 decision to the top-ranked Université de Montréal Carabins on a cloudy Sunday afternoon at Concordia. The loss gives the Stingers a 2-6-0 record on the season, plunging them to the bottom of their division, one point behind Université de Sherbrooke.
The Stingers team looked like frustrated individuals, unable to generate any offense. Their shots barely troubled the opposing keeper, and a lot of their offensive attacks were thwarted by their own mistakes and wrongdoings.
On the defensive, goalkeeper Nick Giannone did all he could to keep his defenders and players focused, yet ultimately was on the hook for four goals (two of them converted penalties).
The Carabins first converted a penalty a couple of minutes before half time. Midfielder Maxime Laurey sent Giannone the other way and put the Carabins on the board 1-0.
Once the second half began, the Stingers came out with more life and spent a good deal in the Carabins’ half of the field. The Stingers had the momentum until third-year Carabins defender Alexander Haddad made it 2-0. Not too long after that, another penalty was given to the Carabins, and Carabins’ Jonathan Bourgault made no mistake converting from the penalty area. Carabins defender Vincent De Bruille, applied the final nail in the coffin, scoring a fourth goal for the Carabins.
Second-year Stinger forward Gabriel Quinn felt his team was out of it once the second penalty was converted.
“I think the two penalties that the ref called on us kind of disappointed us, demoralized us,” he said. “When you get [behind] 3-0 nil, you’re demoralized.”
Quinn also felt the referee wasn’t up to par with his calls during the game.
“The referee wasn’t working with us. Didn’t help us at all.”
Despite players’ frustration on the field, Stingers’ midfielder Jose Prida maintained that the players would be looking to keep a positive attitude for the remainder of the season.
“The results haven’t helped but we try to keep a positive attitude and we like to get things going forward,” Prida said. “It’s frustrating to lose sometimes by this score, or more. But we try to keep our heads up, that’s the mentality all the time.”
The Stingers have a lengthy break to prepare for their next match, a home game versus Université de Quebec à Trois Rivières (UQTR) on Friday, Oct. 18. UQTR is currently at 3-4-2, sitting in the fourth and final playoff spot in their division. The Stingers now have four games to avoid the cellar.
