Stingers lose 3-1 in spirited quarterfinal of the indoor league
The Concordia Stingers men’s soccer club faced their final strike in their indoor season on Sunday evening, as the team fell short to local rivals, the McGill Redmen, in the quarterfinal playoff round.
Prior to Sunday’s match, the Redmen had defeated the Stingers three times in both the winter and fall seasons.
The game began with a very tight back-and-forth defensive battle wherein both squads met high pressure from all angles over the pitch. Mid-way through the first half, McGill forced a turnover, which led to Redmen forward Sebastian Munro netting the game’s first goal.
After the goal, the scoring chances picked up as both teams had several close-range chances. Moments before the end of the first half, Stingers midfielder Jose Prida finished a crossing play and picked the top right corner to tie the match at one.
Following the high-tempo first half, the Redmen came out and took control of the game. McGill midfielders William Hoyle and Julien Marlatt capitalized on two defensive breakdowns and made it 3-1 for the Redmen. The two goals gave McGill a strong cushion for the rest of the game and handed the Redmen the victory.
‘’I thought our effort was going to come through in the beginning of the game, but we just didn’t bring it,’’ said Stingers head coach, Greg Sutton. ‘’In the second half, we started to come out with a better intensity and presence towards dictating the game and after a few sloppy goals, that could kill you.’’
The game itself was very close and was played with an outstanding amount of pressure by both teams. The two defensive collapses put the Stingers in a tough scenario to bounce back from. Regarding his clubs’ composure after their effort, Sutton said that Concordia couldn’t capitalize on crucial chances, which led to their defeat.
‘’We had our chances. We hit the post on numerous occasions where we could have put them away, but we didn’t execute, it’s frustrating, it’s hard to keep the composure,’’ said Sutton. ‘’When you dig yourself in a hole like that it’s hard to come out of.’’
The loss marks the end of the Stingers winter season, but Sutton is optimistic looking towards the future.
‘’We’ve made some progressions in the right way. The results may not have shown it, but our team has grown and we’re becoming a better team. It’ll take more consistency to get where we want to go,’’ Sutton said.
Regardless of the team’s shortcoming, Sutton is going to strive to keep competing and get his team to a more competitive level.
‘’We’re going to continue to work and we’ll bring in some new recruits to help get us to that level that we want to be at. We’re looking forward to the fall,’’ said Sutton.
The Stingers’ effort towards a brighter future and a better season will restart just after the summer.
