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Men’s hockey
Concordia 3 McGill 2 (OT)

After a 3-2 shootout loss to UQTR on Wednesday, the Concordia Stingers got back on track with a huge win against defending CIS national champion McGill.
The Redmen came in to the game ranked second in the CIS, and boasted a 10 game winning streak against the Stingers.
Concordia’s Mike Stinziani took a tripping penalty just 1:22 into the game. McGill’s potent capitalized just 23 seconds into the man advantage and put Concordia in a hole early.
Kyle Armstrong answered for the Stingers just over five minutes later and the game remained tied until late in the second period.
With the clock ticking down on the second frame George Lovatsis gave Concordia a huge boost, scoring with just 13 seconds left in the period, giving the team momentum into intermission.
Despite a stellar play by Stinger goalie Nicholas Champion, McGill tied the game just four minutes into the third.
With the Stingers looking for a hero it was Alexis Piette who answered the call. Piette scored the winning goal halfway through overtime to hand McGill their second defeat in a row.
Champion was outstanding again for Concordia and his .930 save percentage is the third best in the CIS.
The Stingers will face the Redmen again this Friday at 7 p.m. at McGill.

Women’s hockey
Carleton 4 Concordia 2

Concordia lost their second game in a row to the Carleton Ravens, falling 4-2 on the road this weekend.
Down 3-0 late in the second period, Alyssa Sherrard and Catherine Rancourt scored within 30 seconds of each other to bring Concordia back in striking distance.
The Stingers just couldn’t beat Carleton goalie Victoria Powers in the third period, and as a result suffered their third loss of the season.
Concordia’s next game is Friday night at Université de Montréal.

Women’s soccer
Concordia 0 UQAM 0
Concordia 5 Bishop’s 0

The Concordia soccer team enjoyed their most successful weekend of the season playing to a draw and picking up a win against both UQAM and Bishop’s.
Concordia tied UQAM 0-0 on Friday night, with goalkeeper Brittany O’Rourke posting her second clean sheet of the season.
On Saturday, a Stingers team that had only scored nine goals all season exploded offensively. The Stingers thrashed the Bishop’s Gaiters 5-0, picking up their second win of the year. Emily Hubbard recorded a goal and an assist for Concordia.
The Stingers at 2-7-3 are eliminated from playoff contention and will play their remaining two games next week against Sherbrooke on the road, and finishing at home on Sunday, Oct. 30 against McGill.

Men’s soccer
UQAM 1 Concordia 0

Concordia’s nightmarish season continued Friday night against UQAM. The Stingers lost their sixth game in a row, falling 1-0 to UQAM.
Concordia has been outscored 17-1 in the six-game span and hasn’t scored a goal in a month, since a Sept. 23, 3-1 loss to Montreal.
Concordia sits in dead last in the RSEQ conference and is awaiting their season to draw to its merciful conclusion next week on the road against Sherbrooke on Friday, before playing their season finale at home to McGill on Sunday.

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Stingers finish season on four-game losing streak

The Concordia Stingers finished their regular season with a 23-6 loss to the McGill Redmen at home on Sunday. The game added a fourth loss to the Stingers’ losing streak, and allowed McGill to lock up first place.

Concordia just couldn’t break through when they needed to against McGill in a 23-6 loss on Sunday afternoon. Photo by Navneet Pall

Despite making the most of an undisciplined McGill team in the first half and putting six points on the board, the Stingers were unable to sustain that pressure during the second half.
“We took advantage of the kicks we could in the first half, but didn’t have as many opportunities in [the second half],” said Stingers head coach Clive Gibson. “Our defence was solid and [McGill] didn’t break the line that often.”
McGill used the halftime break to clean up their game. This change would eventually lead them to break the Concordia defence by capitalizing on each window of opportunity the stingy Concordia defence presented.
The Stingers showed off their defensive skills when the team received a disciplinary yellow card towards the second portion of the first half. Concordia fell short a man for 10 minutes; they battled constant Redmen pressure for the better part of 20 minutes. This defensive stand was highlighted with a gorgeous takedown of the Redmen scrum-half by eight-man Philippe Walkden, which eventually led to the Stingers gaining possession and clearing the ball, leaving McGill with nothing to show for it.
One of the more frustrating aspects of the Stingers’ performance was the inability to score a try against the opposition. “We had three chances missed on the wing; it’s all about finishing, especially in this league,” said scrum-half Conor O’Hara.
As a followup to Sunday’s game, the Stingers will face off with the Gaiters in a playoff matchup at Bishop’s University this Friday.
Despite Sunday’s loss, the team is hopeful. “If you look at how much we want it as a team and how aggressive we’re playing, no one is going to outwork us come playoffs” said Walkden.
Concordia lost once and tied once against the Gaiters in two meetings this year, and are hoping to rebound in the postseason. A win in Lennoxville would send Concordia to the finals for the second straight year.
“We can score against Bishop’s if we get the ball,” said outside centre Jonathan Dextras-Romagnino. “If we play how we played today, we have a good chance.”

Playoffs begin Friday Oct. 28 at 8:15 p.m. on the road against the Bishop’s Gaiters

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Stingers pitched out of CIBA National Championship

It would be unfair to call the Concordia Stingers baseball team’s 2011 season a disappointment. Rather, it was a very successful season that happened to come to a disappointing end.
Playing at the CIBA National Championship in Moncton, N.B., the Stingers had their Cinderella season come to a heartbreaking close in the semi-finals against the Durham College Lords.
Similar to what happened in the conference finals against Carleton, Concordia ran into a pitcher tossing the game of his life.
Shaun Slemko carried the Lords on his arm all the way to a 3-2 victory over the hard-hitting Stingers.
Slemko struck out 11 Stingers in his complete game victory. He allowed only five hits, and neither of the Stingers’ two runs were earned.
Andre Lagarde pitched a fine game as well for the Stingers, allowing just three earned runs on seven hits to go along with six strikeouts; Slemko was just better.
Lagarde allowed two runs in the bottom of the third inning, on three hits, but his teammates were there to pick him up.
Marco Masciotra reached first base on an error to lead off the top of the fourth inning for Concordia, and Martin Chambers followed with a walk. With two outs, Tim Riley singled and loaded the bases for catcher Marshall Johnston.
Johnston, playing in what would prove to be his final game with the Stingers, came through and singled in two runs, tying the game.
Durham got the run back in the fifth, though. After inducing a double-play, Lagarde gave up a two-out double. After an intentional walk, James Wakutz stepped up to the plate and delivered a dagger right into the centre of the Stingers’ hearts.
Wakutz singled in what proved to be the winning run. Concordia only managed one runner in the final three innings, and never had any one past first base.
Durham went on to defeat Humber College, 6-1, in the national championship game.
This year’s tournament was remarkably competitive. Every game the Stingers played was decided by a single run.
Concordia opened the round-robin tournament with a 4-3 comeback win over the Cape Breton Capers, after trailing 3-0 in the sixth inning.
Leading Durham 5-2 in the final inning of the second game, it was the Stingers who squandered a late lead, and eventually lost 6-5 in extra innings.
Wanting to control their own fate in the final round-robin game, Concordia gave the ball to Matthew Jacobson, hoping the big right-hander could carry Concordia into the semi-finals.
Jacobson delivered. He pitched a complete game shutout, allowing only five hits and one walk to go along with four strikeouts.
The 1-0 win propelled Concordia into the semis and the subsequent defeat.
Even though they came home without a championship pennant, Stingers players and coaches were proud of what they accomplished this year.
“I”m unbelievably proud of our guys,” said manager Howard Schwartz. “[After the loss] I just told them how proud I was of how they played all season.”
“My four seasons as a Stinger were the best years of my baseball career,” said Jacobson.
The team, by all preseason expectations, overachieved. Nonetheless, coming so close only to fall short will leave the Stingers anxious for next season, hoping to reclaim the feeling of 2009, when they reached the summit of the CIBA.
Pitcher Alex Kechayan was named Pitcher of the Year while Matthew Jacobson was named All-Canadian Tournament All-Star Pitcher.

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Stingers advance past McGill to finals

A swift Stinger charge in the second half left the McGill Martlets speechless in the RSEQ semi-finals. A passing McGill player was overheard murmuring, “I can’t believe it, I don’t know what happened.”

Ball control was crucial for Concordia in their 18-8 RSEQ semi-final victory over cross town rival McGill. Concordia faces Laval in the finals next week. Photo by Anthony Isabella

During the first half, the Stingers started off shaky by repeatedly not getting straight lineouts, and allowing McGill various free kicks. However, Concordia clearly dominated the scrums and the drives by keeping low and binding strong. As a result, the Stingers gained continuous possession and lots of yards.
Fourteen minutes into the first half, Concordia fly-half Erika Hamilton scored the first try as she pulled a clever play.
“Erika’s was a great solo effort, we had practiced shooting gaps and she shot the gap she used the other runner as a dummy that was fantastic,” said Stingers head coach Graeme McGravie.
Near the end of the first half, McGill was desperately attempting to get points on the board before halftime, since they were unable to break free from Concordia’s strong defence.
With two minutes left in the first half, Casey Thorburn, a centre for McGill, scored a try thanks to some quick passes and excellent linebreaks, evening the score, 5-5.
With 16 minutes left on the board in the second half, McGill seemed to try to play up their offence, getting dangerously close to Concordia territory when the back line was pushing through.
However, McGill was called for a penalty allowing Hamilton to quickly execute an excellent kick to the ball to clear their line.
This was followed by effective driving mauls and quick tackles every time McGill attempted a run. The pressure on McGill pushed them to make simple errors such as gaining offside penalties. This made it easier for Concordia to keep possession and charge with full force to gain territory. Concordia inevitably scored another try, winning the game 18-8.
The Stingers speedy centre, Latoya Blackwood, greatly contributed to the win. She charged fearlessly during the second half, after some great passes were made by her teammates.
“I’m proud of how we overcame challenges,” said Blackwood. A yellow card for No. 8 Hughanna Gaw was one of those moments. “We were down a player for about 10 minutes, but we stuck together and were not defeated. We did what we needed to do to win.”
Concordia played with more confidence and coordination in the second half.
“In the first half we didn’t play our game at all,” said Blackwood. “We let McGill control the pace and so second half we just wanted to go out there and accomplish the goals we planned out during practice and we succeeded at it.”
Even McGill head coach Vince deGrandpré was impressed by the Stingers. “I think that [Concordia] might be more experienced and well organized,” he said. “Those girls are committed, they’re strong, they’re fit and they deserved to win.”
DeGrandpré mentioned that star Concordia players such as Gaw, Blackwood, and Jackie Tittley are an intimidating line of players. “They’re a tough act to go up against.”
“I’m happy we won; we grabbed them down and pulled it out,” said McGravie. “They decided to stick together and play as a team rather than playing as 15 individuals.”
With a game against Laval ahead, a return to the CIS national semifinals is on the line for the Stingers. Concordia was defeated both times they played Laval this season.

 

Concordia will play Laval Oct. 29 at 1 p.m. in Quebec City.

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Stingers score four in the third for 5-4 win

Charles-Antoine Messier scores to give Concordia 1-0 lead. Photo by Navneet Pall

Eric Begin had a goal and an assist in the third period to lead Concordia over the visiting Laurier Golden Hawks, after falling behind 4-1.

Charles-Antoine Messier scores to give Concordia 1-0 lead. Photo by Navneet Pall

However, sloppy defensive play and the strong presence of Golden Hawks forwards led them to a 4-1 lead heading into the second intermission. A valiant effort lead by the Stingers veteran players made way for an exciting comeback. With just over a minute of play left, Samuel Morneau scored the winning goal.
Stingers head coach Kevin Figsby praised his senior leaders on their third period presence. “When things got down, those were the guys that jumped up and took charge, and that’s your veteran leadership,” he said. “When guys like that step up, your captains step up, your leaders step up and your rookies contribute and buy in, you’re going to have success.”
Midway through the third period, captain Eric Begin provided a much needed spark on the power play, when his point shot found the back of the net.
Less than a minute later, Begin would feed a beautiful cross-ice pass to Alexandre Monahan, who found himself unaccounted for in front of the net. Monahan buried a shot upstairs cutting the deficit to 4-3.
Monahan would strike again, tying the game with seven minutes, when he finished a nice passing play on the rush, scoring in a Bobby Orr fashion, going airborne after the puck left his stick. Francois Lanctot-Marcotte was Monahan’s partner in crime on the play, providing Monahan with a quick pass before the puck sailed past Golden Hawks netminder David Clement.
Though they came away with the win, Concordia will have to learn to play a full 60 minutes this season as the team was sloppy most of the game.

Goalie Nicholas Champion stands his ground. Photo by Navneet Pall

The Stingers couldn’t capitalize on four first-period powerplays and a lacking defence forced goalie Nicholas Champion to stop two clearcut breakaways in a two minute span.
A shorthanded goal by Laurier forward Mitch Lebar gave his team the one goal lead after 20 minutes, capping off the lackluster period for Concordia. Champion stopped the initial shot with the puck sitting under his left pad but Lebar was there to take it all the way.
The Golden Hawks continued to dominate in the second period, adding a goal to their lead when Thomas Middup took a clean pass in the slot from Tyler Stothers, capitalizing on the one-timer.
Evidently Figsby must have provided his young men with a convincing speech as they were heading into the third period. The complete momentum swing as well as the four goals scored spoke volumes about his team’s character and their willingness to battle back from such a deficit.
After losing their first two games on the road, Concordia is now back at .500, having also defeated the Brock Badgers 5-1 at home on Friday night.

Concordia will play host to UQTR on Wednesday, Oct. 19 at 8:30 p.m.

 

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Ravens say nevermore to Stingers’ conference title hopes

Andre Lagarde winds up to throw in Concordia's only victory in the conference finals against Carleton. Photo by Navneet Pall

The Concordia Stingers baseball team hopes to put Sunday’s long, cold, damp and disappointing day behind them before the CIBA National Championship begins this weekend.

Andre Lagarde winds up to throw in Concordia’s only victory in the conference finals against Carleton. Photo by Navneet Pall

Concordia was unseated from their throne as two-time defending conference champions by the Carleton Ravens, losing the first game 4-3, winning game two 6-4, before losing the decisive third game 4-0.
The team expected to play two games Saturday, and if necessary one game Sunday, in a best-of-three series, to decide which team would be crowned CIBA Northern Conference champions. Mother Nature refused to clear her schedule for the series though, as Saturday’s game was rained out, forcing a triple-header on Sunday.
It was a lot of baseball in one day for any team to play.
“It was a long day for us,” said Stingers pitcher Matthew Jacobson, who started game three. “I mean, both teams had to play under the same circumstances, but still, it was tough.”
Despite losing the conference championship, under the new CIBA structure, both Carleton and Concordia will be playing for the national title this weekend in Moncton, N.B. Although, the Stingers were unable to win the series arguably because of the automatic berth.
“I’ve been in the game for 40 years longer than any of the players and it was tough for me to stay prepared and focused,” said Stingers manager Howard Schwartz. “So it was definitely tough for the players.”
“I don’t necessarily think it was a lack of focus, but definitely the intensity wasn’t like it normally is,” said Jacobson.
Ideally, the team didn’t want to lose their way into the championship, but neither Jacobson nor Schwartz were too concerned with the loss. “I know we’ll be ready to play [at nationals],” said Schwartz.
“Maybe it was good in a way, because it showed us we need to come ready to play or we’ll get beat,” said Jacobson.
Game one saw the Stingers carry a 3-2 lead into the sixth inning with star pitcher Alex Kechayan on the mound. Unfortunately for Concordia, though, the team decided to take a page out of the Milwaukee Brewers’ book of fielding and defence.
Three Concordia errors in the seventh handed Carleton the lead and eventually the first game of the series.
Much like he did against McGill in the previous round, Marco Masciotra used his bat to propel the Stingers to victory in game two. Masciotra hit a three-run home run in the first inning and added a two-run double in the third to put Concordia up 5-1.
Andre Lagarde was making a rare start on the mound and held the Ravens in check before running into trouble in the fourth inning. With Concordia leading 6-3, Lagarde was replaced by Brandon Berkovits who was able to close out the game, and send the series to a game three rubber match.
In game three, it appeared that no one told Ravens starting pitcher, Charlie Crabb, that his team already had a berth at nationals.

Tim Riley dives back to first base. Photo by Navneet Pall

Crabb pitched an inspired game, going the distance, striking out nine and only allowing one hit in the Ravens 4-0 victory.
“I don’t know if it was the cold or what, but I haven’t seen a guy pitch like that in a couple years,” said Schwartz.
Crabb’s impressive performance made game one even more frustrating for the Stingers in retrospect.
“If we win game one the series is ours because we wouldn’t have had to face [Crabb],” said Schwartz.

The Stingers will travel to Moncton, N.B. this weekend to play in the CIBA National Championship. Games begin on Friday. The Stingers last won a national title in 2009.

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Stingers fall one point shy in loss to Vert et Or

The rain poured down as Concordia and Sherbrooke players prepared for a line-out. Sherbrooke won the game 12-11. Photo by Navneet Pall

The Concordia Stingers men’s rugby team lost to the Sherbrooke Vert et Or by one point on Friday night, after playing a tough game in the pouring rain.

The rain poured down as Concordia and Sherbrooke players prepared for a line-out. Sherbrooke won the game 12-11. Photo by Navneet Pall

An unlucky kick by Concordia at the start of the game hit the goal post, but Adriano D’Angelo gained the lead and three points for the Stingers with a kick at the 18:05 minute mark.
Sherbrooke was quick to answer back and scored the first try and two-point conversion at the 26:24 minute mark.
Another kick by D’Angelo earned Concordia three more points, but once again Concordia couldn’t keep Sherbooke off the board for long.
A second try by Sherbrooke at the end of the first half gave the Vert et Or a six-point lead over Concordia, making the game 12-6 at the break.
The rain made execution difficult for Concordia, but Stingers coach Clive Gibson said the rain shouldn’t have affected their game as much as it did.
“As far as I know it was raining on both teams, not just us,” he said.
The slippery ball made passing difficult, and proved challenging for a team of speedy, quick-handed backs.
“Our backs are the strength on our team, and when you can’t move the ball quickly and easily it takes away that aspect of the game,” said Gibson. “We couldn’t react to it, we couldn’t respond, and we couldn’t deal with the weather conditions.”
The Stingers came back in the second half with pressure in Sherbrooke’s end. Hooker William Felderbaum scored a corner try and five points for Concordia at the 69:15 minute mark, but a difficult conversion attempt from the wide angle was unsuccessful.
Despite two yellow cards for Sherbrooke – and over 20 minutes of a one-man advantage for Concordia – the Stingers couldn’t make the push for another try.
“The boys just simply didn’t do enough,” said Gibson. “When for 20 minutes you have a one-man advantage because [Sherbrooke] had two guys in the sin bins, and you don’t score, it calls into question the tactics being used.”
It’s been a rocky season for the Stingers so far. They coolly beat Sherbrooke the last time they faced each other with a final score of 17-5, but they couldn’t secure the win against them this time, despite a strong show in the second half.
“Unfortunately that’s the nature of our season,” said Gibson. “We spent the better part of every game we played pressuring in their end, and were not able to finish.”
Outside-centre Jonathan Dextras-Romagnino said he was disappointed over the loss.
“We came out thinking we were going to score four tries and we got a lucky one, so we underestimated them,” he said. “The rain killed us. Our game plan shouldn’t be screwed by the weather.”
A rare guest was also in attendance Friday night to see the game. McGill coach Craig Beemer showed up to see the Stingers in action before his Redmen face Concordia next weekend.
The Stingers lost to the Redmen three weeks ago, but eight man David Walsh is optimistic.
“He was watching us but I don’t think he saw much today,” said Walsh. “We’re saving it for next week. You’ll be surprised.”

Concordia plays host to McGill on Sunday, Oct. 23, at 3 p.m.

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Sports Briefs

Football

Sherbrooke 31 Concordia 11

The fourth-ranked Vert et Or proved too much for the Stingers to handle on the road Saturday afternoon, as Concordia fumbled their way to a 20 point loss.
The Stingers had four fumbles on the day, three of which Sherbrooke were able to recover. Compounding the problem for Concordia was that the Vert et Or did not have a single turnover in the game.
Sherbrooke opened the scoring just over five minutes in to the first quarter when Jérémi Doyon-Roch threw an eight yard touchdown pass to Simon Charbonneau-Campeau.
Concordia responded quickly as Reid Quest led his team down the field on a seven play 83-yard drive, which ended in Quest punching the ball in from just one yard out for a touchdown, evening the score.
The Stingers went into halftime trailing only 12-9, but just couldn’t hang with one of the premier teams in the country.
After the Stingers conceded a team safety to make the score 14-9, Ismael M-Bamba returned the ensuing Stingers kick-off 86 yards for a touchdown giving Sherbrooke the momentum and a 21-9 lead
Another seven yard touchdown pass from Doyon-Roch early in the fourth quarter sealed the fate of the Stingers.
The loss dropped Concordia to 3-4, although the Stingers are still sitting in the final playoff spot in their conference, two points ahead of the Bishop’s Gaiters.
Concordia also holds the tiebreaker over Bishop’s, meaning the Gaiters will have to win their remaining two games to leap-frog the Stingers—an unlikely feat considering Bishop’s plays their final game against a 6-1 Laval team, who crushed Bishop’s this weekend 57-9.

Concordia’s next game is Saturday, Oct. 22 at 1 p.m. at home against Montreal.

Women’s hockey

Concordia 4 Ottawa 2
Carleton 3 Concordia 2

The Stingers picked up their first win of the 2011-12 season in Ottawa on Saturday against the Ottawa Gee-Gees.
Concordia found themselves in a hole early after Ottawa scored just over a minute into the game. In the second period, though, Audrey Morand answered for Concordia tying the game at one.
In the third period, it was Concordia’s turn to score early. Just under 90 seconds into the final frame, Emilie Bocchia gave Concordia a 2-1 lead on her unassisted scoring effort.
After seeing their first lead of the season disappear on an Asha Kauffeldt goal for Ottawa, Concordia put themselves back in the driver’s seat at the 12-minute mark.
Véronique Laramée-Paquette, like Bocchia, required no help, recording another unassisted goal, which proved to be the winner.
After allowing seven goals in a losing cause to McGill, goalie Marie-Pier Remillard-Paquette stopped 27 of the 29 shots she faced to pick up the win.
Facing Carleton on Sunday was not home-sweet-home for the Stingers.
Playing their first regular season game at Ed Meagher Arena, the Stingers fell 3-2 to Carleton, despite vastly outplaying the Ravens in the third period.
Trailing 2-1 in the third, Véronique Laramée-Paquette continued her successful weekend, scoring her second goal of the game to even the score.
Concordia just couldn’t hold on, though, as they allowed Carleton the go-ahead goal just under three minutes later.
The Stingers are now 1-2 on the season.

The Stingers next game is Sunday, Oct. 23 at 2 p.m. on the road against Carleton.

Women’s rugby

Concordia 54 Sherbooke 16

The Stingers ended their season on a high note after losing to Laval last week.
Playing their final game of the season, Concordia dominated Sherbooke and clinched second place in their conference. They will now host McGill next week in the RSEQ playoffs.
Jenna Guiliani played a crucial role for the Stingers, scoring five tries in the winning effort.
Concordia is ranked sixth in the CIS with their only two losses coming to Laval, who is ranked fourth.
McGill is also ranked in the CIS top 10 and will be hoping to exact their revenge from a regular season loss to the Stingers.
The start of the playoffs will also suggest that Concordia’s quest to win the national championship, after losing in the finals a year ago, will begin on Saturday. The game time has yet to be determined.

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