The Stingers men’s soccer team picked up another point on Thursday when they crossed town to face the Université du Québec à Montréal Citadins. Anasse Brouk put the Stingers ahead from the penalty spot in the 32′ minute. UQÀM equalized in the 53′ minute after a slip up in Concordia’s back line.
Stingers head coach Lloyd Barker lined his side up in a 4-5-1. Anasse Brouk started up front as the lone striker. The five-man midfield consisted of Sammy Tork, Fabian Troche, Gonzalo Paredes, Gabriel Quinn and Eduardo Mazzonna. Jayson Gallahue, Ramin Mohsenin, Christopher Mirasyedi and Enos Osei made up the back line, ahead of Remo Taraschi in goal.
UQÀM was the better side at the start of the match. Taraschi was forced to make at least three big saves within the first 30 minutes. His first big stop came in the 28′ minute when UQÀM forward Rémi Veilleux found himself alone in front of goal. Taraschi deflected the shot out for a corner. On the ensuing corner, the Con U keeper came up huge when he tipped a lobbed shot over the bar.
In the 32′ minute, the Stingers transitioned quickly up the pitch. Tork made a run into the UQÀM 18-yard-box and was tripped up by a defender. The referee pointed straight for the penalty spot. Brouk stepped up and converted the kick, making up for his missed penalty two matches ago.
Two minutes before half-time, the Stingers were inches from going two-nil up. Osei rolled a ball through the UQÀM penalty area. Brouk was seconds late to the ball and missed a chance to tap in his second goal.
There was still time for an UQÀM chance. From a free kick, Concordia was fortunate as a Citadins player’s header barely missed the goal.
This was a very aggressive first half. Both sides had their fair share of fouls. Concordia found success playing down the wings. This led to the penalty kick. After the Stingers scored, they were the better side for the rest of the half.
However, UQÀM was quick to start the second half. Within the first seven minutes, Veilleux had two major chances to tie the match. Taraschi continued his solid play in the Concordia goal. He made saves on both opportunities.
One minute later in the 52′ minute, the Citadins would get their goal. UQAM defender Guillaume Rochon crossed in a ball from the left side. Every Concordia defender, including the goalkeeper, misjudged the ball. It found Sallim Dahman alone with an empty net.
The Stingers replied by bringing on Andrew Bryan and Claude Diesse. Both made an immediate impact on the match. In the 66′ minute, Diesse controlled a pass from Bryan and made an attempt to lob the UQAM keeper. The ball did not dip when it needed to.
In stoppage time, the Stingers could have been awarded another penalty kick, after a player was dragged down in the box. However, the referee kept his whistle in his pocket.
Seconds later, Diesse’s header had the Citadins goalkeeper beat, but the ball was just wide of the left post.
Both teams picked up a point in the 1-1 draw.
“I think we could have gone for the three points,” said Stingers assistant coach Francois Bastien. “But of course, we’ll take a point on the road.”
Last time both schools met, UQÀM came out on top, winning 1-0 at home. Bastien said meetings between both schools are hard to predict.
“It’s always awkward against UQÀM,” he said. “It’s a very disorganized and counter attacking game. Holes get created, players get pulled wide and pockets get created. You just never know what you’re going to get.”
