Soccer teams expose weaknesses during exhibition play

The Concordia Stingers women’s soccer team struggled during the 2007 season, and despite some promise in their roster, it looks as though this year may be no different.
The women managed to pick up two wins, against Moncton and the University of New Brunswick, tied against Wisconsin, Ryerson and Mount Allison and lost against Laurentian in their six exhibition games. The bad news is that most of those teams finished near the bottom of their respective conferences last season, which could mean they will have to work hard to top last year’s less than stellar 4-9-1 record.
Although a lack of talent and scoring doesn’t seem to be the problem for the Lady Stingers, intimidation and intensity were both non-existent during play. They were easily dominated by the opposing teams, struggled to complete their passes and rarely carried the ball past the penalty lines during their exhibition games. The team also at times failed to communicate with their goalie, who, on many occasions, was left to fend for herself while her defence stood by and watched.
Meanwhile, the men’s side fared much worse, picking up four losses, one win and a tie in six exhibition games.
Although the men managed to play rough and with strong teamwork, a lack of goal-scoring may still spoil the team’s season. The Stingers only scored six goals in six pre-season games, while allowing 10. Both the team’s scoring and defence will have to improve if the men want a winning season.
The men’s squad is also coming off an unsuccessful 2-8-2 2007 season, which means that the pressure is on for both the players and coaching staff – now in their second year – to produce. The Stingers have not had a winning season since 2003, and will have to practice finding the back of the net before their season opens.
On the women’s side, the good news is the team’s intensity level can be easily improved with practice. They can also count on a refurbished roster: the Stingers have picked up 11 new players for the upcoming season, including mid-fielder Molly Howes.
Both the men and women open their seasons at home against UQAM on Sept. 12 at Concordia Field.