Stingers lose soccer doubleheader vs Carabins

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The Carabins haven’t conceded a goal yet this season, and the Stingers didn’t break the shutout streak Friday night. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

Carmen Milne makes 11 saves in loss against ninth-ranked women’s team in Canada /  Yancine Ait Slimane scores lone goal in men’s team loss

Men’s Game

by Alec Brideau

The Concordia Stingers men’s soccer team faced a resilient Université de Montréal Carabins team Friday night. The Carabins scored early in both halves and capitalized on their chances.

“I think that there are moments in a game where you have to capitalize and we had a couple of opportunities in their box, but just couldn’t finish,” said Stingers head coach Greg Sutton. “They won more battles than we did.”

The game was marked by high intensity and physical play. The Stingers received two yellow cards and the Carabins got one; Concordia’s Mateo Zazo and UdeM’s Mouad Ouzane each received red cards.

Despite the loss, Sutton said “it was a good performance.” The Stingers had numerous scoring chances during the game, even hitting the crossbar late in the first half. Unfortunately, they just couldn’t keep the momentum going into the beginning of the second half.

Stingers forward Yacine Ait Slimane scored the lone goal for his team. His performance against the Carabins gave his team a chance to fight until the very last second of the game.

“We’ve been really pleased with the way Yacine has worked and has been committed to his team the right way,” said Sutton about his forward.

Omar Kreim and Frédéric Lajoie-Gravelle scored for the Carabins forty minutes apart.

The Stingers will play the Université de Laval Rouge et Or at home on Sept. 21.

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The men’s team fought hard, but couldn’t come back from a two-goal deficit. Photo by Hannah Ewen.
Women’s Game

By Isaiah Martel-Wilson

The Stingers women’s soccer team’s game  the Montréal Carabins on Sept. 14 at the Concordia Stadium posed one of their toughest tests of the season. Montréal, through its first three games, allowed no goals and sat on top of the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) standings with a 2-0-1 record.

Following an injury to one of the Carabins, Rose-Marie Julien, they came back strong. Thanks to a fortunate bounce, Maude Leblanc scored the only goal of the game for the Carabins.

Not deterred by their early struggles, the Stingers maintained their composure. Goalie Carmen Milne made it clear that she was going to keep her team in the game and continued to make key saves for the remainder of the first half.

As the Stingers returned to the field for the second half, their new-found aggression may have been misplaced as it led to a free kick. But as she proved during the first half, Milne blocked the shot, breathing life back into her team.

Their defensive pressure forced the Stingers into coughing up valuable possessions, finally opening up scoring opportunities. This culminated in a one-timer that went wide with under 15 minutes to go. The one-goal loss didn’t hurt the team’s chemistry—it seemed to bring them closer together.

“We’re a hard working team and we showed that we can compete with the number two team in the country,” said head coach Greg Sutton. The Carabins are ranked by U Sports as the ninth-best team in Canada, but second-best team from Quebec.

Milne was forced to make 11 saves in the game and attributes her performance to her team’s constant support. “They stayed behind me, they told me to just keep playing,” she said.

The Stingers’s next game is Sept. 16 at Bishop’s University.

Main photo by Hannah Ewen.

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