Men’s Game
The Concordia Stingers men’s soccer team were defeated 2-1 by the Université de Laval Rouge et Or at the Concordia Stadium Friday night. A second half dominated by the Rouge et Or cost the Stingers the game.
”We have to show up for more than just one half,” said Stingers head coach Greg Sutton after the game. “We can’t sit back and just watch like we did tonight in the second half.”
Yousef Benali’s goal at the 35-minute mark gave the Stingers a brief lead. The Rouge et Or answered with two goals by Bila Dicko-Raymond and Gino Temguia in the first 16 minutes of the second half and took the game away from the Stingers.
Benali’s goal was probably the only thing to remember from this game, according to Sutton.
“That goal gave us the lead, but we gave up two goals after,” said Sutton. “We were playing a good team tonight, so for sure they will make us pay if we play like we did in the second half.”
🐝⚽️ Benaliiiiiii! Sean Holmes finds Yousef Benali deep in Laval’s half, and Benali makes no mistake slotting the ball into the bottom corner to give the Stingers the lead. pic.twitter.com/QNWOeHKpnk
— Concordia Stingers (@The_Stingers) September 21, 2018
The men’s game was also marked by heavy rain. Players had to adjust their game style since there were moments where they could barely see the other end of the field.
“The conditions are the same for both teams,” adds Sutton. “You still need to play your game, no matter the conditions, if you want to win games.”
The Stingers will play the McGill Redmen at home this Sunday.
Women’s Game
The Université de Laval Rouge et Or women’s soccer team showed why they are one of the best teams in the country Friday night. The number-four ranked team in U Sports beat the Concordia Stingers 6-2.
“They are a hard team to play against and you have to give them credit for that,” said head coach Sutton about the Rouge et Or. “We’re a team that works hard and that’s a good base to start with, but it’s also about being better in the right moments defensively.”
The Stingers also scored first against the Rouge et Or. However, the Rouge et Or responded with five unanswered goals and took control of the game. Concordia’s Sarah Humes and Laval’s Laurie Couture-Dallaire exchanged late goals in the second half for the 6-2 win.
Most of the goals scored by the Rouge et Or happened on breakaways or when a player was left alone in the box. Laval had numerous scoring opportunities and they capitalized on most of them.
“We have to make sure that we don’t give them the time and space to play the ball through our defense,” said Sutton. “That’s part of trying to get closer to the ball and we’ll have to make some adjustments going into Sunday.”
The Stingers women’s soccer team will also play Sunday against the McGill Martlets.
Main photo by Hannah Ewen.
