Despite keeping it close in the first half, the Stingers crumbled in the second half Sunday in men’s soccer action, losing 4-1 to UQAM.
The match started with a rampant pace; both teams were ready to play from the get-go. However, at the fifth minute, after a nice save by Concordia’s goalkeeper Nicholas Giannone, Bala Traoré of UQAM was able to take the loose ball next to the net and put it in.
Stunned by this early goal, the Stingers stood by as UQAM took the upper hand in the moments that followed. Soon after that, the Stingers were able to regain their composure and the play returned to a back-and-forth pace.
Stingers’ Matthijs Eppinga had a good chance to tie the score at the 20th minute, but was stopped by UQAM’s keeper Raphael Schott. Concordia’s Christian Auld, attempting to grab the potential return, ran into Schott and received a yellow card. Matthijs Eppinga continued his assertive play after this by trying to create scoring chances. Teammates Enos Osei and Michael Al Tork also started stepping up their game. After a couple of missed opportunities by Eppinga, the Stinger’s forward was able to tie the game with five minutes left at the half, finishing a beautiful passing play that included Osei and Al Tork. Finishing the first half in a weak manner, UQAM started the second half with dynamic attacks and by increasing pressure on the Concordia defence. This non-stop assault toward Concordia’s goal resulted in a hand ball by a Stinger and a penalty shot for UQAM. Manuel Chaffort scored on the penalty kick by placing the ball in the middle of the net while Giannone dove to his right. From that point on, everything went south. Concordia opened up the playing style, desperately trying to even out the score. This led to a counterattack by UQAM’s Nicolas Bertrand, whose shot was blocked only to bounce back to teammate Maxime Bélanger, who chipped it in at 60th minute, making it 3-1. The Stingers continued to work hard, playing with a sense of urgency. Unfortunately, there was very little success to show for their efforts. This and some questionable calls by the referees fed the Stingers’ frustration, which began to show in their play.
On the other side, UQAM took advantage of being in the driver’s seat: waiting for an opportunity and capitalized again at the 77th minute when Sallim Dahman put home a strike that previously had hit the horizontal post, sealing the 4-1 win and annihilating any chance of a comeback.
The men’s soccer team will host UQTR Oct. 1 at 8:30 p.m.