Concordia falls to Sherbrooke in close loss

Photo by Brianna Thicke.

Men’s soccer squad came up short once again at home and are still searching for their first win

The Concordia Stingers men’s soccer team was looking to capture their first win of the season Sunday, but the Sherbrooke Vert et Or did not give it to them. The Stingers came up short as they fell 1-0 in a frustrating loss.

“It was extremely disappointing,” said head coach Greg Sutton after the game. “We didn’t come with the right effort or with the right mentality.”

Photo by Brianna Thicke.

Sherbrooke came out strong in the first half as they kept the Stingers in their own zone, forcing them to defend for most of the first half. The Vert et Or had an obvious edge over the Stingers as they forced Concordia’s goalkeeper, Wes Aucoin, to make a few exceptional saves.

However, during the 21st minute of play, Sherbrooke forward Omar Rahmouni booted the ball at the net, where Aucoin was able to make the initial save but could not hold onto the ball. That’s when Rahmouni’s fellow teammate, Didier Labarre, pounced on the rebound and sailed it past Aucoin, into the back of the net.

After the first goal, the Stingers were determined to push hard to get the equalizer. At the 25th minute, defenseman Stephen Meterissian tapped the ball into the Sherbrooke net after a scramble off of a corner kick from midfielder Gabriel Quinn, but it was called offside. Concordia continued pushing, but the Sherbrooke defense would not budge. The Stingers headed into halftime down 1-0.

Concordia started the second half stronger than they did the first, looking re-energized as they desperately tried to tie the score. In spite of their effort, Sherbrooke did not let up and continued to push back, not allowing Concordia to create any momentum at all.

Photo by Brianna Thicke.

As the final 20 minutes loomed, the Stingers found themselves scrambling to score at least one goal to level the score. Both their urgency and frustration were on full display as Concordia stepped up their physicality level, expressing their anger through slide tackles, which forced the referee to call countless fouls against the Stingers.

As the game dwindled down, with both teams creating chances, Concordia finally began pressing offensively. As a result, the Stingers created a few nail-biting opportunities. At the 75th minute, Concordia forward Kevin Yasbek blasted the ball at the net on a breakaway chance, just missing the post, highlighting one of Concordia’s best chances of the game.

But it wasn’t enough.

“It wasn’t our day and I don’t have an explanation,” Sutton said. “We need to work on our competitiveness and get back to the basics because that’s what killed us today.”

The Stingers now sit 0-1-2 in this season. Coach Sutton looks to shake things up next game, as the team hopes to turn a new leaf when they face Université de Montreal on Sept. 26.

“It’s back to the drawing board,” said Sutton. “I guess we’re going to have to make changes and I’m going to have to sit back and think about it.”

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