Penalty shot goal earn Stingers first point of the season
Following a loss to the Université de Montréal Carabins in the regular season finale of the 2022 Réseau du Sport Étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) season, the Concordia Stingers women’s soccer team aimed for revenge in their 2023 season opener at Concordia Stadium on August 30.
In a game that saw a thunderstorm delay the match by over thirty minutes, anticipation was building on the pitch as the players got set to kick-off the new season.
The first half consisted of back-and-forth play, as both teams’ defence kept scoring opportunities to a minimum. Stingers’ head coach Greg Sutton was pleased with how his team looked coming out to begin the season.
“We did a great job being focused at the start of the game,” said Sutton. “We are still in pre-season essentially, so we are still working on a lot of things, but going up against arguably one of the better teams in the country as they always are, I thought we showed really good character.”
With the first half coming to a close, both teams took the halftime to regroup and get reset for the second half.
Despite a close call on a Carabins hit post, the Stingers found their golden opportunity eight minutes into the half. A penalty shot was rewarded when Stingers striker Sara Carrière was tackled inside the box. With a perfect kick into the lower-left corner, the Stingers struck first and took the lead 1-0.
As the momentum had seemingly shifted to the Stingers, a floating shot taken by Carabins striker Mia Tessier found the top corner from 30 yards out, tying the game 1-1.
The equalizer came just three minutes after Concordia took the lead. Coach Sutton spoke on the conconded goal: “Sure, we could do a better job on closing the ball down, but that was one of those where you have to just tip your hat and move on.”
Stingers’ goalkeeper Anastasia Fox performed superbly, stopping nine shots on goal in the match and earning her team a draw against Montréal.
Despite not leaving victorious in their first game of the season, Sutton shared his expectations for the Stingers moving forward. “Our standards have risen every year that I have coached [at Concordia]—our standards are higher than they were last year. To get a result against [the Carabins] was fine, but we want more. We have that standard of being one of those teams at the top of the league.”
The team will now head across town to face rival McGill Redbirds on their home turf, with kick-off set for 3:30 p.m. on September 3.
