Tag: Jocelyn Barrieau

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Ottawa 24, Concordia 12: Stingers come up short in competitive regular season finale

Concordia ends the regular season with a 2-4 record, will face Carleton in the opening round of the RSEQ playoffs

The Concordia Stingers women’s rugby team played their final game of the RSEQ regular season on Sunday afternoon, losing their second matchup against the Ottawa Gee-Gees by a 24-12 scoring margin. The Stingers secured the third seed in division A with the loss, ending the season with a 2-4 record and setting the stage for a quarterfinal matchup against Carleton next week.

Stingers head coach Jocelyn Barrieau said that she expects the upcoming playoff matchup to be competitive given the two teams’ recent history. 

“We have a big, physical matchup coming up against Carleton, we’re well aware of the physical nature of their game,” Barrieau said. “It’s also a rematch from the playoffs two years ago, so we know that they’ll be very fired up to come here and perform.”

The last time Ottawa and Concordia met on Oct. 2, the Stingers got shutout in a 50-0 loss on the road. Barrieau said she wanted her team to focus on the little things ahead of their second meeting of the season.

“One of our big points of emphasis this year is continuing to work on our trust in each other, in everyone’s abilities to do their jobs. Coming into today, we also changed our warmup routine, so it was those types of little adjustments that led to the better results on the field,” said Barrieau. 

The Stingers seized control of the game early, registering a try in the opening minutes of the match. Ottawa responded quickly with a try of their own, tying the game at 5-5 after both teams failed their conversion attempts. The score would remain tied through the opening 20 minutes as both sides struggled to establish their footprint on the game. 

Ottawa was able to impose their will on Concordia to end the first half, notching a pair of tries to head into halftime leading 19-5. Stingers forward Shawna Brayton would register a try at the 59 minute mark, briefly setting the stage for a potential Concordia comeback. However, a late try by Ottawa front row Anna Dodge put the game out of reach. Gee-Gees back Alexandra Ondo and Stingers back Emma Gallagher were named MVP for their respective teams. 

Barrieau said the team’s training schedule heading into the playoffs will prioritize recovery with less contact than usual. 

“This game was very physical, and we know next week will be too, so our goal is to try and keep our girls fresh.”

The Stingers will host the Carleton Ravens in the RSEQ playoff quarterfinals this Friday at Concordia Stadium.

 

Photograph by Aashka Tarun

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Women’s rugby ends season with loss at home

Photo by Gabe Chevalier.

Head coach Barrieau already looking forward to next season

The Concordia Stingers women’s rugby team lost 50-29 in a hard-fought game to the Sherbrooke Vert et Or at home on Oct. 12. This was the Stingers’s last game of the season, as they did not make the playoffs.

The Stingers kept the game close through the first half, down 22-12 at halftime. The Vert et Or scored two minutes into the second half to extend their lead to 17 points. The Stingers managed to get two tries within the next 10 minutes to cut the lead to five points. 

The Stingers continued to play hard and kept it close for some time, but their opponents quickly took momentum, and the win, with three quick tries that put the game out of reach.

“Overall we played a good game and there is positive to look up on,” said head coach Jocelyn Barrieau.

Photo by Gabe Chevalier.

Barrieau, in her first year as head coach, said she is very proud of her team. “We are in a transition year, where most of this group will stay together,” she said. “We have one fifth year and a fourth year who will be leaving. The rest will all be here next year.”

The players are also really proud of their performance. “It was a rebuild year, and the girls’ commitment was amazing,” said second-year forward Emily Kyte. “Sure, the results were not there like last year, but with us being a young team, we have the potential to become a better team as we grow together.”

One player that impressed Barrieau this season was rookie Kristine Trafford. “[She] was a great captain for the younger girls and was responsible for the equipment every game,” Barrieau said. “Her leadership impressed me a lot.”

“I’m very excited for next season—it will be a fun year,” Barrieau added.

Main photo by Gabe Chevalier. 

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Resilient Stingers fall to Rouge et Or

The Stingers outscored the Rouge et Or 14-12 in the second half. Photo by Mackenzie Lad.

Tess Armstrong scored her first try of the season

The Concordia Stingers women’s rugby team lost 41-19 to the Université de Laval Rouge et Or on Sunday afternoon. The Stingers’s record has fallen to 2-2 on the season.

After the opening 20 minutes of the game, the Stingers were down 24-0. They gave up one more try before first-year back Jasmine Baxter scored a try in the last minute of the half, cutting the lead to 29-5.

“I was just looking behind me when I intercepted it and saw I had two people on me, so I knew I had to touch it down,” said Baxter on describing what went through her mind on her way to score. This was her sixth try of the season.

The Rouge et Or scored two other tries early in the second half. The Stingers’s defence tightened up, allowing Concordia to score two tries of their own. Second-year forward Tess Armstrong scored her first try of the season in the game.

The Stingers outscored the Rouge et Or 14-12 in the second half. Photo by Mackenzie Lad.

“It feels great to have scored that try,” said Armstrong. “We played a great game at the end which helped me get the try. I’m proud of the girls for not giving up, especially in a rebuild season.”

Head coach Jocelyn Barrieau said she wants her players to be positive so “nobody falls alone,” and that this game was an example of their character.

“After being down by that much so quickly in the game, it was a shock to the girls,” said Barrieau. “[Baxter]’s try definitely gave us some momentum. It was an individual score, but it was team’s defence that caused it, making for team effort.”

Rouge et Or head coach Kévin Rouet said he wished his team finished the game stronger. “We got too loose and allowed the other team to get back into the game,” Rouet said. “We will take the win, but we will need to work on finishing.”

The Stingers’s next game is on Oct. 5 away against the Université de Montréal Carabins.

Main photo by Mackenzie Lad. 

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Jocelyn Barrieau is teaching at all levels

Jocelyn Barrieau played one season for the Stingers, and is now back to coach them. Photo by Hannah Ewen.

Former Stinger takes what she learns from coaching to her teaching

In July 2018, the Concordia Stingers named Jocelyn Barrieau the head coach of the women’s rugby team. With that, Barrieau’s career has come full circle.

Barrieau played rugby at the university level for five seasons, with the first four at McGill. She came to Concordia to play for the Stingers in 2011, to pursue her dream of playing for the Canadian national team, which never panned out. She did help the Stingers reach the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) final. They lost in the final against the Université de Laval Rouge et Or. “It was definitely a good year and good experience for me,” Barrieau said.

While playing at the university level, she also coached the Dawson Blues women’s rugby team from 2007 to 2011, winning four championships. She’s also been a skills coach with the Stingers men’s rugby team since 2013. Having coached at the CÉGEP level, and now as a head coach at the university level, Barrieau said there’s a big difference between the two.

“CÉGEP is important, but [university] is a pretty important part of people’s lives because they’re really figuring out what path they’re taking,” Barrieau said. “It’s a pretty intense time, and to throw on the fact that you’re a varsity athlete on top of all the stuff that’s going on is a pretty big load.”

She also added that players are more mature at the university level, and are better organized with school. “All that stuff is a practice run in CÉGEP and it’s a bigger task here,” Barrieau said.

Barrieau addresses her players following the Kelly-Anne Drummond Cup on Sept. 16. Photo by Mackenzie Lad.

Barrieau also said there’s added benefits to coaching at Concordia versus at Dawson. “The support from the university is unbelievable,” the first-year head coach said. “At Dawson we were supported, but even just having a locker room, field, and our own space [here at Concordia] is amazing.”

When the Stingers hired Barrieau, she said her goal as a coach was to make sure her players have a 100 per cent graduation rate. She said she’s working with Craig Beemer, the head coach of the men’s rugby team, and the Stingers’s academic coordinator, to make sure the players’ academic needs are fulfilled.

“One of the big things for me is to try to see and identify problems [players might be having] before they happen,” Barrieau said. The head coach also said she understands the overwhelming pressure of being a student-athlete. After all, Barrieau was one herself.

“People have been there and it’s important to talk about it,” Barrieau said. “If people are willing to talk, I am willing to listen […] Maybe they even just need a night off training to sleep.”  

Outside of Concordia, Barrieau is also a high school teacher at Laval Junior Academy, and is teaching eighth grade French this year. She’s been teaching in the Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board for a decade now.

“At that point in their lives, students are much younger and are still figuring themselves out in a different way than the athletes here,” Barrieau said. “There are some drive differences too. School is not for every kid and those kids kind of get pushed to the side, but in university, everyone tries to be more inclusive because they want to be here.”

“The way I am on the field is quite similar to how I am in the classroom,” Barrieau added. She said the majority of skills she uses as a teacher come from coaching, such as “time management, organizational skills, clarity and communication, love and compassion, drive, desire and competitiveness.”   

As a rookie head coach, Barrieau deals with a young Stingers team. A handful of veterans left the team, most notably Frédérique Rajotte and Alex Tessier. Rajotte was the Stingers’s female athlete of the year, and was named U Sports MVP for the 2017 season. On this year’s team, out of 28 players, there are 21 in their first or second season, with only two fifth-years.

“We had a pretty big turnover rate so [the challenges are] getting people up to speed on our basic concepts, vocabulary and systems,” Barrieau said. “We’re not starting from scratch, but close to it. We’re a very young team so we also don’t have tons of on-field and game experience.”

Barrieau is happy to have Alex Tessier (pictured) join her coaching staff. Tessier graduated from the team last year. Archive photo by Alex Hutchins.

Although Tessier graduated from the team at the end of last season, she joined Barrieau’s staff to work as an assistant coach this season. Barrieau said Tessier offered to give back to the women’s rugby program as soon as she finished playing for the team, and is excited to have her.

“I don’t have enough nice things to say about Alex Tessier,” Barrieau said. “Having her here is amazing because she has such a high level of rugby knowledge […] She’s just a real, quality person to have around.”

The Stingers women’s rugby team started the season with a win and a loss, and won the Kelly-Anne Drummond Cup on Sept. 16 against McGill.   

Main photo by Hannah Ewen. 

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