Season ends with tough loss for men’s soccer

The Stingers men’s soccer team lost a difficult game at Stade Percival Molson on Friday night to McGill by a score of 6-1, in their final game of the season.
Concordia showed heart in the first half with solid defensive play, holding McGill’s high-powered offence to only one goal in that session. The halftime score was only 1-0 for the Quebec Student Sports Federation (QSSF) playoff-bound Redmen.
The solid play in the defensive zone throughout the first half was led by rookie goalkeeper Kyle Prillo-Guaiani. The keeper made huge saves against the McGill attack, stopping striker James Scholefield and midfielder Shawn Amarasekera on numerous occasions. These two McGill players were within the top ten of QSSF scorers at the beginning of the weekend.
Concordia’s hard play continued into the second half, finally getting a break in the 30th minute on a goal by forward J. Alexandre Fillion Lord. A pass by team captain Sandro Addesa displaced the Redmen goalkeeper, leaving a wide-open side of the net for the Stinger’s forward. A quick and accurate shot by Lord tied the game up at 1-1.
This goal provided the Stingers with momentum and confidence that would fade in the following minutes when the Stingers’ goalkeeper was issued a red card.
“I don’t agree with the call, I wasn’t going for him,” said Prillo-Guaiani after the game about this play, which saw him take down a Redmen player in the box.
McGill was awarded a penalty shot and scored on the ensuing play. This goal and the ejection of their goaltender crushed the Stingers, who were eliminated from QSSF playoff contention before the start of the game. McGill went on to bury the Stingers, scoring four more times to make the final 6-1.
“We collapsed tonight, small mistakes hurt us out there,” said Stingers defensive star Kouyabe Ignegongba.
Following the game, the team was frustrated with their difficult final outing of the season, but remained optimistic about the prospects for next year.
“We’ll be there, playoffs, nothing less,” said Ignegongba. He will be returning for next year and expects big things from the guys who are coming back.
“It’s looking good for next year, there are good young players here,” Addesa said. Unfortunately for the Stingers, their captain and star will not be returning next season.