Author: Felicia Parrillo

The men’s soccer team is still searching for their first win

The spotlight was on the Concordia Stingers men’s soccer team once again as they hosted Université du Quebec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) in a must-win game. Unfortunately for the Stingers they came up short, drawing 0-0.

“It’s disappointing,” said assistant coach Francois Bastien. “We needed a better result and we didn’t get it.”

The Stingers came out with a surge of energy in the first half, but looked a little nervous. At times, they seemed disorganized as passes were not connecting. The Patriotes were simply winning more battles.

However, in the 10th minute of play, Stingers forward Vincent Murray jumped on a breakaway and had a beautiful opportunity to take the lead, but his chip just missed the net, skimming the crossbar.

A few minutes later, UQTR took back control of the game, and as a result had a few glorious chances. At the 24th minute, Concordia defender Alexander Elali committed a foul inside the box and the Patriotes were given a penalty shot. Due to a great diving save from goalkeeper Wes Aucoin, the game stayed at nil-nil.

As the first half dwindled down, Concordia’s frustration was on full display. They were forcing plays, they failed to use open space and they were simply not communicating. The Stingers hadn’t had a shot anywhere near the net since Murray’s breakaway chance in the beginning of the game.

As the second half began, Concordia came out like a different team. They were all over the Patriotes, and you could tell that they were hungry for the win.

Concordia was pressuring UQTR for most of the second half, trapping them in their own zone and forcing their opponent to make mistakes. The Stingers were finally generating a handful of shots on net and had multiple quality chances. Concordia had finally forced open the Patriotes defense and were wearing them down late in the match.

As the game came to an end, the Stingers were scrambling and doing everything they could to get at least one in the back of the net. But the effort was too late.

“It’s been the same thing all season long. We have problems scoring goals,” said Bastien. “We have to give credit to our rookie goaltender [Wes Aucoin] and defenceman Olivier Georges, they are the ones making the difference defensively. But you can have all the possession in the world, if you don’t score goals, you’re not going to win.”

Concordia sits in second-to-last place with a total of five points. Though it is mathematically possible for the Stingers to make the playoffs this season, with only four games left, their chances are few.

“We need to work on generating opportunities,” said Bastien. “This has been the problem all year long.”

The Stingers host Université de Montréal at Loyola on Oct. 17 at 6:30 p.m. The Carabins are one of the strongest teams in the league, so they’ll need all the help they can get.

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.”

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.

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.”