Tag: rouge et or

Categories
Sports

Stingers get stung in home opener

After the loss, the Stingers now have a record of 1-1. Photo by Ana Hernandez.

Concordia’s football team lost to the Université de Laval Rouge et Or on Sept. 10

Untimely offensive errors and mistakes on special teams proved costly for the Concordia Stingers as they lost their home opener against the Université de Laval Rouge et Or by a score of 37-18 on Sept. 10.

“Realistically, we got to finish in the redzone with our offense. We had too many dropped balls and too many miscues,” said Stingers head coach Mickey Donovan. “We had too many mistakes on special teams with our kick return team and out punt return team. These are things we can fix.”

Early in the first quarter, already down 5-0, the Stingers had a chance at a field goal, however the kick was blocked and then returned 84 yards for a touchdown by Rouge et Or defensive lineman Mathieu Betts. This gave Laval a 12-0 lead early on.

On the ensuing kickoff, Stingers running back Quaysie Gordon-Maule received the ball on his team’s 6-yard line, and ran the ball 104 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to 12-7.

In the second quarter, the Rouge et Or capitalized on their chances, and added two touchdowns to give themselves a 26-7 lead at halftime. The Stingers, who are known for their high-flying offense, struggled to get points on the board as they were unable to score in the second quarter.

“They did the little things right and we didn’t focus on those things,” Stingers quarterback Trenton Miller said. “No defense in this league is too much for us—we just need to execute.”

In the second half, the Stingers were able to get off to a better start. They forced Laval deep into their own zone which led to a safety and then later in the third quarter, the Stingers scored a field goal to reduce the lead to 26-12.

The Stingers in a full team huddle before the match.

As the match progressed, the Stingers were able to get the ball into the Rouge et Or zone, but could not finish. The Rouge et Or defense was there to shut the door at every occasion, however, for Rouge et Or head coach Glen Constantin, containing the Stingers offense wasn’t easy.

“It was difficult. We prepared for 80 per cent passing last week like they did against McGill but they came out rushing at first,” Constantin said. “We had to readjust a couple things. They make fast reads and we had to make their quarterback earn his throws.”

With the game out of reach, Miller brought his team deep into the Laval zone and ran the ball into the endzone himself for the team’s first offensive touchdown of the game. After a failed two-point conversion by the Stingers, the score settled at 37-18.

The Stingers combined for 372 yards of total offense, while the Rouge et Or combined for 434 yards of total offense. Despite being outplayed on the offensive side of the ball, Donovan praised his team’s performance.

“Despite having a couple of dropped passes, I thought our offense played well,” Donovan said. “There’s things that we can fix and there are things we’re going to get better on. But our kids played a tough game.”

The Stingers will take on the Université de Montréal Carabins at the Centre d’éducation physique et des sports de l’Université’ de Montréal on Sept. 16 at 7 p.m.

Categories
Sports

Concordia defeats McGill and heads to RSEQ finals

The Stingers women’s rugby team did not disappoint in getting to the RSEQ playoff finals. Last year, they were defeated by the Laval Rouge et Or 43-27. This year, the maroon-and-gold had to overcome the McGill Martlets in the semi-finals. The game was played on a rainy Friday night at Concordia Stadium.

Within five minutes of the first half, the Stingers scored an early try and successfully converted the ensuing kick to go up 7-0.

At the midway point, the Martlets took advantage of a Concordia penalty by scoring from a kick. Concordia’s lead was narrowed down to 7-3 as the half came to a close.

After the Stingers missed a kick at 9:30, they were on the attack once more two minutes later. They threatened the Martlets by finding gaps in the defense and by cycling the ball around well. Concordia’s aggressive play with possession saw the team within a few yards of the try line. McGill managed to recuperate and stopped ConU on the goal line.

The half ended without any more points. Concordia took a slim four-point lead into the break.

The final 40 minutes were quite similar to the first. Both sides continued to trade possession until Concordia finally found a break with 15 minutes to go. The Stingers managed to get the ball down to the McGill five-yard line, but a penalty saw them unable to score any points.

In the final 10 minutes of the game, the visiting Martlets upped the pressure and started to make their way down the Concordia half. McGill were desperate to take the lead and a good passing play saw them on the Stingers’ 20-yard line. Concordia’s defense once again denied their rivals’ progression and regained possession.

With 4:30 minutes left, Concordia fans were finally able to breathe easier; a mistake in midfield made by McGill left Stinger Frederique Rajotte with space and a clear path to the try line.

The game ended 12-3 in favour of the Stingers.

“You always want to score first and put points up when they give them to you,” said Stingers head coach Graeme McGravie about the early try. “I was really happy we executed there, but I was a little upset we took the pedal off after that.”

With Laval’s win on Saturday in the other semi-final, Concordia will have a chance to avenge their slim five-point loss on Oct. 12 to the Rouge et Or. The final has massive implications as Laval defeated the Stingers in last year’s playoffs. Since 2007, Concordia still has an advantage by winning the playoffs three times compared to Laval’s two RSEQ championship wins.

“We thought we should have won last week,” said McGravie. “We know that we lost the game because we lost it and not because they won it from us. I feel great going to next week.”

 

The RSEQ finals will be played Saturday, Oct. 27, 1:00 p.m. at the University of Laval’s Stade Telus. The game will also be broadcasted online.

Categories
Sports

Concordia falls to Laval in final game of season

Despite having the home field advantage and a sea of maroon and-gold sitting in the bleachers, Concordia’s women’s rugby team lost 27-22 to the Laval Rouge et Or on Friday night.

Graeme McGravie, Stingers head coach, said the team is happy with the game but disappointed with the result.

“We played really well but left too many scoring chances on the field, especially in the first half,” he said, “and we paid for it.”

Laval has been a strong competitor so far this season. They placed first in the RSEQ conference with seven wins and zero losses. Concordia finished in second place with six wins and one loss.

The game started off in Laval’s favour; their first try – with conversion – happened within the first 10 minutes of the first half. Concordia fought hard to get back on top, bringing the score to 7-3 with a penalty kick. Bianca Farella showed promise with a breakthrough six minutes to the end of the half, but got taken down five yards from the try line. Laval finished off the half with a penalty kick, bringing the score to 10-3.

It was obvious, in the first half, that Laval was strong in the scrum and aggressive in the rucks. They had an excellent back line made up of fast players who regularly broke through Concordia’s defense.

However, Concordia picked it up in the second half, scoring three tries and two conversion kicks. The more impressive of the tries was the second, which happened 30 minutes into the half by hooker Jessica Beaudry. Concordia was lined up perfectly on offense at the five-yard line and pushed hard to get through Laval’s defensive line.

The crowd was visibly impressed with the second half; you could hear the supportive cheers all the way from Deli Pat and fans were on the edge of their seats cheering on the female Stingers. They played with more force and determination, using Laval’s weaknesses to their advantage.

Unfortunately, Laval scored two more times with conversions and started off the second half with a perfect penalty kick, bringing the final score to a close 27-22.

Regardless of the loss, Concordia has one vital motivating factor: optimism.

“If we play that well again, and stop some of the brain farts we had, we can win it all,” said McGravie. “But we have to execute our chances.”

The Stingers will play the McGill Martlets in the semi-finals of the RSEQ division this Friday. The winner will face the victor of the semi-final between Laval and Ottawa.

 

Concordia plays the Martlets on Friday, Oct. 19 at Concordia Stadium. The elimination game starts at 7 p.m.

Categories
Sports

Stingers cross-country teams battle wet weather at the Rouge et Or invitational

A 7 a.m. wake-up call to torrential rain hammering against the window was how Concordia’s men and women’s cross-country teams woke up on the morning prior to their race in Quebec City on Saturday, Oct. 6.

The three hour drive to the province’s capital was not any more uplifting. However, by 1 p.m., the intensity of the rain had calmed to a drizzle.

The course was soft and wet. It started with a tight curve with some back and forth on the flat. This was an easy way to scatter the runners early on. A steep downhill followed with a quick turn and the monster hill to the top.

The men’s side repeated this loop four times for a total of eight kilometres, while the women’s team totaled four kilometres.

Ryan Noel-Hodge was the first Concordia man to cross the finish line. He finished second out of 55 runners with a time of 25:12. Noel-

Hodge was three seconds behind the leader. Simon Driver was the second best Concordia runner. He finished in 12th place with a time of 27:07. Francis Dumoulin and James Coulton finished 29th and 31st respectively. Ryan Ruffner was in 52nd spot.

Noel-Hodge felt confident, followed his plan and executed it near-perfectly.

“It went well,” he said. “There was good competition up front. I know what I have to work on to win provincials now.”

As for the women’s side, Elizabeth Mokrusa was the first Stinger to finish the run. She came in 16th place and posted a time of 15:52. Val Sicard-Thibodeau, Molly Howes and Chloé Rochette finished within minutes of Mokrusa. Andriana Farias was the last Stingers runner to cross the line with a time of 19:41.

“Prior to the race, I wasn’t feeling as fresh as I have for the previous races this season,” said Howes. “It may have affected me in the last kilometre, but otherwise I felt relatively strong.”

Farias felt the weather didn’t affect her negatively. She was however, unable to attain her goal of beating her time from the previous race.
“Every race is different so I guess I shouldn’t compare times between races,” she said. “I still feel accomplished, and motivated to keep training.”

The Stingers’ next event will be Saturday, Oct. 13 at the AUS Interlock in Fredericton, New Brunswick. The men’s team will complete another eight kilometre race, while the women’s side will participate in a five kilometre race.

Exit mobile version