Although they remain winless, a wild ending gives Concordia their fourth tie of the season.
The Concordia Stingers men’s soccer team was still looking for their first win of the season when they hosted Université de Montréal on Friday, Sept. 26. After three draws and two losses to open the season, the Stingers still can’t catch a break. Once again, Concordia played hard to earn a 1-1 draw against the Carabins.
The game got off to strong start for both teams as each team had chances in the early stages. Good opportunities on net were met by even better goaltending and stiff defense. Although it was an up-and-down first half, neither team could finish their attacks and both squads went into the halftime without a goal.
The second half started with a relentless Carabins attack. Looking to get the first goal of the game, the Carabins were determined to get through Concordia’s defense. Luckily for the Stingers, goaltender Wes Aucoin stood in the way and made some incredible saves to keep the score tied at 0-0.
Photo by Nikolas Litzenberger.
Ten minutes into the second half, the Carabins finally got on the board when Maxime Laurey set up his fellow midfielder, Adama Sissoko, who beat Aucoin to open the scoring and give the Carabins a 1-0 lead.
The Stingers pushed hard to equal the score as they dominated possession and got multiple shots on net. It looked as if Concordia was on their way to their third loss of the season. Late in the game the Stingers looked down and out, but their tenacity eventually paid off.
In extra time, to the dismay of the Carabins players and coaches, the Stingers were given a free kick just outside the box. Stingers defenseman Stephen Meterissian stepped up and delivered a kick that sent the ball sailing into the net after being deflected by one the Carabins’ defenseman. After the ensuing kickoff, the referee signaled the end of the game, and that’s when things turned ugly.
Carabins players, coaches, and even parents came onto the field to protest the call of the goal, arguing that there was interference with the goalkeeper as the ball went into the back of the net.
Stingers goalkeeper coach Nicholas Giannone had to step in to stop a fight between the Carabins coach and the referee.
“I think it was a crazy match honestly, it was good for the fans and we’re actually happy with the point but it shows there is a lot of work to be done and we just didn’t capitalize on our chances,” said Giannone.
After his last-minute goal, Meterissian was relieved that something finally went their way.
“It felt good to get that goal late in the game. Our issue was [that] we couldn’t score on our chances but I liked how we kept the pressure and we kept pushing and creating offense,” Meterissian said.
Hopefully, this is a sign of good things to come as the Stingers head into the second half of the season.
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.”
Photo by Brianna Thicke.
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.
Photo by Brianna Thicke.
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.”
Concordia defeated Sherbrooke 29-22 in front of an energetic homecoming crowd
The Concordia Stingers defeated Sherbrooke Vert et Or by a score of 29-22 on Friday night, Sept. 19, in Concordia’s homecoming game. With the victory, the Stingers are 3-0 for the first time since 2006, and it was the first time that the Stingers beat the Vert et Or in four years.
Concordia’s quarterback, Francois Dessureault, was the key player in the victory. He completed 19 of his 25 passes and threw for 275 yards, including three touchdowns.
The Stingers defense started the game perfectly as they forced Vert et Or to go two-and-out on their first two drives of the game.
Photo by Nikolas Litzenberger
Then, the Stingers offence broke out. Led by Dessureault, Concordia got the first touchdown of the game on a 62-yard pass to wide receiver Jamal Henry with just over ten minutes to go in the first quarter.
Sherbrooke would get their first points of the game on a 24-yard field goal by kicker, Mathieu Hebert with two minutes left in the first quarter. However, the Stingers defence tightened up and made Sherbrooke’s quarterback Jeremi Roch pay for his mistakes in the second quarter.
Concordia’s defense came out flying and picked off Roch three times in the quarter. Stingers defensive back, Kris Robertson, had two interceptions, one of which he ran back for a 64-yard touchdown.
The Stingers went into halftime leading 14-12, but should have had a bigger lead. The offence gave up a safety and had two fumbles that were recovered by Sherbrooke. Late in the second half, one of Concordia’s fumbles was scooped up by the Vert et Or defender, Rami Saintus, who ran it back for 20-yard touchdown.
Photo by Nikolas Litzenberger
Sherbrooke got the first points of the second half after another 24-yard field goal by Hebert, but that’s as close as the Vert et Or got to victory.
Concordia answered with a six-minute drive that eventually ended with a seven-yard touchdown reception by Henry, his second of the contest.
After a muffed punt on Sherbrooke’s next drive, the Stingers offence put the game out of reach. Starting on the Vert et Or’s 40-yard line, Stingers receiver Shayne Stinson had back-to-back receptions that ended with a 19-yard touchdown reception. Stinson was Dessureault’s favourite target during the game, as he hauled in six catches for 112 yards. By then, the Stingers were up by 29-15 and headed into the final quarter with a secure lead.
The fourth quarter was dominated by both defenses. Even though Sherbrooke scored a late touchdown to make it 29-22, it was too late and the homecoming celebration had begun.
Although the Stingers walked away with a win, it was a costly one. Midway through the second half, Concordia lost its star rookie running back, Gunner Tatum, to a head injury after a dangerous hit by a Sherbrooke defender. Stingers head coach Mickey Donovan stated after the game that he does not know when he will return to action.
Despite the unfortunate injury, Donovan was pleased with the win.
“It was a good victory for us, something we have not done in four years.”
The Concordia Stingers men’s soccer team was looking to get their first win of the season on Friday night against the Laval Rouge et Or. After a back-and-forth game, the spirited contest ended in a 2-2 draw, earning the Stingers their first point of the season.
The first half of the game started off as a tight defensive battle between the two squads. Although each team had their chances to score, no one could hit the back of the net. At the 32nd minute, the Stingers were called for a harmless foul inside the box and the referee awarded Laval a penalty kick.
Photo by Brianna Thicke
The call infuriated the Stingers players and their head coach Greg Sutton, who spent a lot of time arguing with the referee until finally being ejected from the game. Laval forward Patrice Dion walked up to the penalty spot and booted the ball past Concordia’s goalkeeper, Wes Aucoin, to give the Rouge et Or a 1-0 lead. The Stingers, who pushed hard to try and level the score but couldn’t beat Laval’s defense, headed into halftime down 1-0.
Concordia started the second half off strong as they continued to push for the equalizer. Four minutes in, midfielder Gabriel Quinn got the ball off a turnover and fired a great shot past Laval’s keeper. The tying goal seemed to energize the Stingers as they continued to attack the net, looking for the lead.
At the 60th minute, Concordia got the lead when another poor mistake by Laval led to another turnover. Stingers midfielder Nick Sisti led the counterattack and finished the play off with a strike, beating Laval’s defense and giving Concordia the 2-1 lead. With the Stingers dominating the game now, a victory seemed within reach.
Just when the Stingers had all the momentum, tragedy struck when the referee called a tripping foul in Concordia’s box, giving Laval its second penalty kick of the match. Although the Stingers sideline erupted in protest, the referee had sealed Concordia’s fate. Dion stepped up again for Laval and made no mistake, scoring on Aucoin and tying the game at 2-2.
Concordia pushed hard in the final minutes, but the unfortunate calls were too much to overcome. After the game, Concordia’s goalkeeper coach Nicholas Giannone couldn’t believe what had happened.
“I honestly have mixed feelings about this game. We could have played much better and there is a lot of work to be done, and I still cannot believe the referee made those calls against us.”
Despite the draw, Sisti liked what he saw and admired his team’s resiliency.
“We could have played better but what I like is [that] this team didn’t give up.”
Concordia’s football team dominated from start to finish to earn a convincing victory
The Concordia Stingers are officially on a roll after defeating the McGill Redmen in the 46th annual Shaughnessy Cup on Friday by a score of 41-7. With the win, the Stingers improved to an impressive 2-0 on the season.
The win, according to Concordia’s head coach Mickey Donovan, was a result of concentration and energy.
“We got complacent a little bit as we were coming into the second half, but we had a great talk in the second half and the kids came together. The coaches did a great job and we came off firing,” Donovan said.
Photo by Keith Race
Headlining the game was Stingers’ quarterback Francois Dessureault, who was good on 16 of his 33 passes for 291 yards and two touchdowns. Dessureault also carried the ball six times for 33 yards and ran for a touchdown of his own.
The Stingers defensive unit allowed minimal success for the Redmen offence, forcing two straight two-and-outs to begin the game, paving the way for Dessureault and his offence to score on three consecutive drives.
Fourth year veteran kicker Keegan Treloar opened the floodgates for the Stingers after connecting on a 15-yard field goal early in the first quarter. It was the first of his four successful attempts of the night.
On Concordia’s second possession, Dessureault crossed the goal line on an untouched five-yard sprint, giving Concordia an early 10-0 lead.
McGill’s ensuing possession was a short one. Concordia defensive back Kris Robertson, who was selected in the second round of the 2013 CFL Draft by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, picked off Redmen quarterback Dallon Kuprowski and returned the football 48 yards. The turnover set up Dessureault to find his receiver J.C. Benny for a seven-yard touchdown.
The Redmen continued to struggle offensively in the first half. McGill gave up three safeties and only found the end zone once on a catch from Kuprowski to receiver Louis Brouillette.
The first half ended with the Stingers leading the Redmen 23-7. Unfortunately for McGill, the third quarter was all too familiar for Concordia.
Stingers running back Gunner Tatum continued his hot start to the season and found holes through McGill’s defensive line, allowing Treloar to add another three points from 42 yards out. The kick extended Concordia’s lead by 19 points.
McGill, in a rather large hole, decided to replace Kuprowski with quarterback Joel Houle, who found no luck penetrating Concordia’s relentless defense. Concordia continued to thrive, earning their fourth team safety and another 42-yard field goal from Treloar, increasing the Stingers lead to 24 by the end of the third quarter.
Dessureault continued to shine midway through the fourth quarter, capping off a drive with a 34-yard connection to receiver Daniel Skube for a 38-7 Concordia lead. Despite his strong day, Dessureault was quick to heap praise on his teammates.
“The chemistry is great. They’re making plays, they’re making great catches, making me look good actually. But with all the chemistry we have, we still have to learn how to finish our drives,” said Dessureault. “We left a lot of points out there and I think we could do a lot better.”
Concordia’s defense allowed only 48 rushing yards, recorded four sacks, and allowed only one score.
“I’m proud of them, and I’m proud of my brother (defensive coordinator Pat Donovan). He did a great job scheming all week. He got the guys going. Without Coach Pat here, we wouldn’t be doing what we’re doing,” said Donovan.
The Stingers will now shift their focus to a Sept. 19 home clash with the Sherbrooke Vert & Or.
Women’s soccer team dominates during Friday night showdown
The Concordia Stingers women’s soccer team began their season on a positive note when they hosted the Bishop’s Gaiters in their home opener at Loyola on Friday night.
The match got off to a good start as the Stingers dominated possession early in the game. At the 10-minute mark, the Stingers got on the scoreboard with a corner kick from midfielder Frédérique Labelle. Labelle gave a solid cross into the box, where it was headed in by Concordia defender Stephanie Liganor. Concordia had the early lead over Bishop’s 1-0. The Gaiters tried to apply pressure and take back the momentum, but couldn’t break Concordia’s solid defense.
Five minutes after Concordia’s first goal, the Stingers scored an identical second goal. Once again, Labelle delivered another corner kick with finesse and power that Liganor finished off for her second goal of the night, giving Concordia a 2-0 lead after 15 minutes of play. The Stingers took over the game from there and dominated possession. The Stingers had more shots on net and did not let the Gaiters get past midfield.
After 20 minutes, unfortunately, Labelle got her leg tangled up with a Bishop’s player and was injured on the play. She was to be substituted by Shauna Zilversmit. The half ended with Concordia leading Bishop’s 2-0.
The second half was much of the same for the Stingers. Even though the score did not change, Concordia kept dominating the play. The Stingers did not allow many chances for Bishop’s to score as their defense continued its strong play. From the first whistle, it was clear that Concordia was the stronger team. Concordia’s complete team effort led to an impressive first win of the season. After the game, Stingers head coach Jorge Sanchez was proud of his team.
“I was content with the game. We got two early goals [and] I was very optimistic even before the match,” said Sanchez. “It was great to win. I liked how we managed the game, and I told [the team] at halftime they weren’t going to score on us and I am happy with the result.”
After her strong game, Liganor had this to say about her stellar play: “I love to be back. This being my last season with the team, I really got into it and I just wanted to play my game, not having played a lot last year.”
It was a great way to start the season for a team who had a disappointing season last year.
McGill Redmen score late in the game to spoil Concordia’s homecoming
The season opener for the Concordia Stingers men’s soccer club was spoiled on Sunday afternoon, following a 2-1 loss against the McGill Redmen.
The Stingers found themselves energized and motivated to succeed against their local rivals, as McGill knocked them out of playoff contention last season.
“We wanted to prepare the team for three points, to start the season at home and we didn’t do that, so we’re highly, highly disappointed,” said Stingers assistant coach Francois Bastien.
The match began with a very defensive, yet aggressive style. The first half displayed minimal chances from both teams due to relentless effort from Concordia and McGill’s defensive units.
During the 22nd minute of play, Concordia’s goalkeeper raced a streaking McGill forward, Valentin Radevich, who managed to get to the ball first and flip it lightly over the goalkeeper’s head for a 1-0 McGill lead. The lead would ultimately stand until the end of the first half.
Although the first half showed very few scoring chances from the Stingers, Bastien said that they wanted to apply what the team practiced and not make any dramatic changes to their strategy.
At the start of the second half, Concordia showed a lot of energy and endurance. Just over five minutes in, Concordia midfielder Karim Haroun placed a perfect corner kick to Nick Sisti who scored to tie the match.
Following the tying goal, both teams set their tempos even higher than before. Efforts from both teams showed no results until late in the match, when a cross from McGill forward, Antoine Chauvel, found fellow striker, Alexander King, for the late 2-1 lead. The lead was just enough for McGill to hang on for a Stingers spoiled homecoming.
“We have a lot of new players especially on the starting eleven so we were preparing for the entire season to get our formation and set plays organized,” said Bastien. “This was the first test and there are things that we obviously want to get better at and work on.”
There was no lack of persistence when it came to Concordia’s effort on the pitch. The defensive unit and goalkeeper played a terrific match, allowing for very few opposing opportunities. Meanwhile, their offensive unit was able to apply a sustainable amount of pressure to the Redmen mid-fielders.
“We wanted to pressure them and that’s what we did. Put pressure on their midfield [and] take over the midfield area, and I think we succeeded in doing that,” Said Bastien. “We didn’t succeed in finishing. We should have, of course, capitalized on some opportunities and we should have minimized those mistakes. We made two mistakes in the back which led to two goals.”
Despite the team’s first loss, coach Bastien can still pick out the positives of the failing effort.
“We started off with I think seven recruits today, so it’s always nerves that make the season hard to get started, especially if they haven’t played in university yet,” said Bastien. “Since we’ve taken care of that, we can really move forward.”
Concordia’s men’s soccer club aims to turn things around on Sept 12. against Laval.
The Donovan era is off to a perfect start following the first win of the season
The Concordia Stingers football team played their home opener on Saturday, Sept. 6, against the Bishop Gaiters and came away with a 25-15 victory.
The Stingers fans and players were hoping to forget about last year’s 0-8 season and a win was just the way to do it. Under new head coach Mickey Donovan the team came out ready to play with a new attitude and noticeable energy.
The game started perfectly as Stingers linebacker Travis Bent recovered a fumble by Bishop’s running back Ron Lee King-Fileen on the Gaiters’ first drive. Stingers kicker, Keegan Treloar kicked a 24-yard field goal to cap off the drive and give the Stingers the early 3-0 led. By the end of the first, the scored would be 6-3 Concordia.
Halfway through the second quarter, Bishop scored the first touchdown of the game on a one-yard run by King-Fileen after a seven-play drive of 75 yards. By halftime, the Stingers would head into the locker room trailing 13-6.
The best player on the field was Concordia’s rookie running back, Gunner Tatum. By the end of the first half, Tatum had already racked up 144 rushing yards on 20 carries. Unfortunately for Bishop’s defense, he was just getting started.
The Stingers came out flying in the second half on defense as they stopped the Gaiters three times on third down plays. They also picked-off Bishop’s quarterback Shane McDonald three times in the second half.
With less than five minutes left in the third quarter, the Stingers regained the lead with a touchdown run by Tatum, putting Concordia up 16-13. Although Canadian football is typically a passing game, Concordia relied on Tatum who finished the day with 192 yards on the ground.
Midway through the final quarter, Concordia ended Bishop’s hopes of a comeback. Stingers quarterback Francois Dessureault connected with wide receiver Jamal Henry. Dessureault had a quietly productive day as he went 9/15 through the air and ended the day with 114 yards and one touchdown. Henry was Dessureault’s go-to receiver as he led the Stingers with five catches. Along with his touchdown reception, Henry had 82 yards in the game.
Whenever a team wins, everyone is happy. However, under Donovan, Dessureault noticed differences right away between this team and previous squads.
“In the past, people would do their own thing. This year, everyone [is] supporting each other. [It’s] just a global family-effort, which is awesome.”
Although he is new to the team, Tatum also commented on the team’s chemistry.
“The team feels like a family and [the] coaching staff loves their players, just like they love their own children”.
The Stingers will travel to McGill this Friday, Sept. 12, to play the Redmen in the annual Shaughnessy Cup at 7 p.m.
The recreation and athletics director still adjusting in his new role
When Patrick Boivin was hired as Concordia University’s Recreation and Athletics director, he knew he was undertaking a major endeavour in rebuilding the school’s athletic department. A lack of success on the field and the lack of facilities and resources off of it have resulted in a sort of “lull” in the school’s storied sports history. Boivin has used his first year on the job to assess all his teams and administrative structures. While only a few major changes have been implemented, Boivin has begun to slowly put his mark on the Stingers brand.
“I think it’s gone well,” said Boivin. “I think coming into any new job we are expected to make changes, there needs to be a period of inputting and there needs to be a period of taking-in not just what’s going on in general, but taking-in what’s good here, since not everything needs to be changed. I think overall things have been good so far, it’s not like I’ve been able to effect any real change so far on the field or on the ice – when I came in everything was done, recruiting was done – but luckily enough we’ve been able to start making some changes in football, where I saw an opportunity to make a change while keeping it in the long term perspective.”
Boivin believes the recreational side of Concordia is already in good hands, which is one less thing to worry about for him.
“The recreational side of things is really well off, the programming is well off…the facilities are what they are,” Boivin said. “We’re limited in the size, and the time that we have, and balancing anything that’s varsity and recreational, but Le Gym downtown is at capacity, if not overflowing, so there’s only so much you can do. As long as you keep improving, step-by-step, whether it’s in the offerings that you have or general service. The general load has been on the inner workings of the department, especially in relation to the varsity teams.”
One of the main things Boivin emphasized was the program’s inability to get the most out of the new PERFORM Centre. The impressive athletic complex is in reality only being used as office space by the school’s athletics program. Since the PERFORM Centre is a research center first and foremost, anything done with the resources available must be done for research purposes, whereas the athletes would mostly need it for clinical reasons, such as treating and rehabilitating injuries. Boivin hopes that the school and the PERFORM Centre can ultimately come together and create a working synergy that benefits both sides.
All of the initial administrative changes made up to this point are just that – initial phases. There is still much more work to be done.
Boivin understands the plight of the student athlete in terms of balancing school, sport and life. His vision includes adding more study hall hours for athletes that work conveniently in their schedules, along with more specific academic counselling and advising that will be tailored to the busy student-athlete lifestyle, all things that Boivin says are disassociated with the games the athletes are playing on the weekend.
In terms of real change, Boivin believes the most important change comes in the form of changing the overall culture of Stingers’ sports.
“The biggest change for me personally is the culture change going on,” said Boivin. “I think we need to accept the infrastructure and financial reality that we are in. It doesn’t mean it’s not going to get better, we just need to accept where we are now and not continue to push on comparisons to other schools. Other schools have decided to put a priority on sports well before we have, in some cases 20 years before we did. I look back to [Université Laval], they’ve been at it since 1996. Being here now and saying ‘oh, look at [Université Laval], compared to them we haven’t done anything in the past couple of years is not fair. I’m bringing it back to football for example but it could be said of other sports too.”
Boivin also said that demographics have a lot to do with why Laval is so competitive year in and year out.
“We’re in Montreal, pretty big population taking into account the island and surrounding areas, but there are 50,000 students at Université de Montreal, give or take 46,000 here, about 35,000-40,000 at McGill, and UQAM [Université du Québec à Montréal] has, I would assume, about the same as McGill,” he said. “So you have four schools that account for over 150,000 students, so we’re all reaching out to the same Montreal audience. [Université Laval] has the whole of Quebec City to themselves.”
Despite the challenges he’s faced in trying to rebuild the school’s ‘Stinger Pride’, Boivin has pointed out a few moments that have been uplifting and important in the program’s growth and development.
“We had some good sporting moments; the women’s rugby team going 7-0 was big,” said Boivin. “Unfortunately they [lost] to McGill in the finals but they had a great season. It’s not often [that we] see teams dominating the way they did. So there are some bright lights already within our program that we want to continue to support and bring them to that next level. But there are different levels of progression for each team. For the football team, them going 0-8, it’s not as difficult to progress from that. At 7-0, with the rugby team, you need to find a way to make them progress the year after.”
Boivin highlighted the hiring of football head coach Mickey Donovan as the program’s biggest moment during his tenure. Being able to bring in a coach whose work ethic and energy will breathe life into a team that has lacked it over the past several years was big, according to Boivin. He is of the mind that Donovan is a “superstar in the making” amongst Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) head coaches, not to mention the fact that Donovan is a young, innovative players coach and a Concordia alumnus who bleeds maroon and gold, having been a Stinger himself; a man who accepted the job because he cares deeply about the school, the program, and its athletes.
Now that the first year has come and gone, Boivin has pinpointed what needs to be done going forward and he knows that in order to achieve his goals for the program, he’ll need the support of the entire Concordia community.
“Now the final thing is combining the communications, marketing efforts and bringing people to the games and creating a strong interest in what we’re doing, to get them involved and engaged,” he said. “Yes, it’s about getting people to games, to some degree, but it’s also about people getting engaged [in the Stinger teams]. It’s something that’s becoming harder and harder to do in today’s world just because there are so many more options out there, because everything is more accessible, more timely with the touch of a smartphone. So I think we have a big job in trying to find a way to engage people, and you can be a casual fan and follow our success by coming to watch one game, but at least being interested in what’s going on.”
If there’s one thing Boivin wants to work on the most, it’s bringing more Concordians, whether it’s students, staff or alumni, to watch more Stingers’ games. Boivin said he learned a lot about how to create an entertaining game during his decade long tenure working with the Montreal Canadiens.
“It’s one thing to go to the Bell Centre and be entertained, it’s another thing to come here and be entertained, but a lot that can be done to make the event and the game fun and attractive to students, alumni, and families in the community around here, so that’s one of the big things we’ll be working on too,” Boivin said. “After that there’s a snowball effect, because your teams are being successful, people are talking about it, and it starts to roll.”
Stingers linebacker among those chosen to participate in official CFL combine
On Wednesday, March 18, Concordia held the Canadian Football League (CFL) regional combine at the Loyola campus. It was a chance for Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) football players to show off their skills to CFL team scouts and representatives for the upcoming summer draft.
They arrived at the Stinger Dome bright and early. Forty-four hopeful players arrived in different colours from different backgrounds. Whether it was in Concordia maroon, McGill red or Sherbrooke forest green, soon enough, they were all equals fighting for the scouts’ attentions.
Photo by Keith Race
Concordia was well represented on Wednesday. Among those invited were Stingers linebackers Travis Brent and Eric Noivo, defensive lineman Shaquille Armstrong, offensive lineman Frederik Landry-Simard and wide receiver Michael Harrington. Although they are no longer a part of the Stingers team, Concordia alumnus, defensive lineman Jonathan Langma and defensive back Nathan Taylor, were invited to the combine as free agents.
“They don’t have film of me playing this year but they still thought enough of my athletic abilities to invite me again. It gave me the chance to train harder and improve on the numbers that I need to improve on,” said Taylor. “It means the world to me that they still think highly enough of me to invite a free agent that hadn’t played last year.”
The day started at 8 a.m. for the players, as they had to register and weigh in. For the rest of the morning, they went through a series of individual tests such as bench press, vertical and broad jump, 40-yard dash and other standard tests for a professional combine.
“It’s different when you get into that [weight] room,” said Noivo. “Our gym isn’t the biggest to begin with and there are 15 chairs and it’s packed with guys watching you, plus there are cameras. That was the only thing I was really nervous for.”
For the rest of the afternoon, players participated in one-on-ones and special teams drills. The off-field testing can only tell the scouts so much about a player. The on-field tests were what everyone was waiting to see. On the sidelines, scouts, players and even family members watched with excitement.
“When we got on the field and in pads, I felt really good. I’m happy overall, it was a fun experience, long day though,” said Noivo.
At the end of the day only five players were chosen to go to the official CFL combine in Toronto this past weekend, but just to be invited to the regional combine was a great accomplishment for the players.
“It was an honour and it ended up being a pretty good experience. I [was] just trying to come out of this with positive thoughts and see what happens in the future,” said Harrington. “I did alright, I always feel like I can do a little bit better but that’s just the competitive side of me. Overall I did what I could and hopefully I impressed some people.”
Among those chosen to participate in the official combine in Toronto was Concordia’s Travis Brent. He will join 50 other players in Toronto, including former Stingers linebacker Max Caron, defensive lineman Quinn Smith, quarterback Reid Quest and wide receiver Kristopher Bastien.
The long-time Stingers sniper says adieu to the University’s program
They say all good things come to an end. They never say how they might end, though.
With the Stingers down 8-4 in the third period of game two in their Ontario University Athletics (OUA) conference first-round playoff series against the McGill Redmen, time was running out on George Lovatsis’ Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) men’s hockey career.
The Stingers had lost game one and a loss in this game would eliminate them from playoff contention, much earlier than any of the Stingers would have ever hoped, especially Lovatsis.
The fifth-year captain did everything he could that night to drag his team back into the game; but the deficit was too great, the Redmen’s lead was insurmountable.
The normally mild-mannered Lovatsis had two outbursts of emotion in the final game.
Photo by Brianna Thicke
The first was a moment of blind rage. Lovatsis gave a solid hack to the back of a Redmen’s player’s leg. Lovatsis then slammed the penalty box door behind him as he was sent off for slashing.
Lovatsis was watching his career end in the last possible way he could have ever imagined, but he made sure to make his presence felt one last time.
The second was the outpouring of heartfelt tears into the shoulder of his head coach, Kevin Figsby. They stood alone on the ice near the Stingers bench in a long embrace, exchanging a few words as the moment overcame them.
“I’ve been here for five years. This is what my life has been the last five years. This is pretty much the end of the era of me being here,” said the Markham Ontario native. “I was thinking about all the things I’ve experienced here, all the good things and the bad things. I’ve learned so much over the past five years from being here.”
“He [Figsby] just said that he was proud of me, that it was a good five years together. That was pretty much it. It was more just emotional, just tears flowing more than anything else,” said Lovatsis.
“George has been a pleasure to coach over the past five years. He’s matured as a player and as a young man,” said Figsby. “We don’t usually have players with us who stay for the entire five years, since a lot of them are [major junior] players who’ve already been going to school before coming here. We’re lucky when we have a guy for three, four years, so to have a guy come in as early as George did from when he got here to him graduating now, it’s been a real treat to watch.”
After half a decade of early morning practises, late-night road trips and countless glorious on-ice moments, you’d think Lovatsis would have a few special stories to share. Instead of specific moments, what he’ll fondly reminisce about the most were the people he spent those five years with.
“I think it’s all the teammates I’ve had over the years,” said Lovatsis. “Every single one of them have been a great teammate. I’ve never had a problem with anyone. I think that’s one important thing to take from the past five years, just the relationships I’ve made over the time I was here with my teammates. That’s the thing that stands out the most.”
Lovatsis was rewarded for his strong play and leadership qualities over his first four years by being named captain by Figsby before this season. Figsby could have put it to a players vote, but he knew that either way, Lovatsis would be the one wearing the ‘C’ over his heart.
“You get the opportunity to watch the guys grow and mature,” said Figsby. “George came in and he was a quiet, unassuming, pretty shy kid. To be honest he hasn’t changed all that much except I’ve seen his maturity and leadership capabilities have grown, and that’s precisely why when we we’re looking at making a leadership group going into this season I decided to name George the team captain. Just watching him play, watching his leadership on the ice, off the ice, we knew it was a good opportunity for us as a young team to have a mature young man like George as our leader this year.”
“It was an honour to be named captain,” said Lovatsis. “Coming in I knew we were going to have a young team and I knew it was going to be my job to guide them along in the right direction this year, just by teaching them from my experiences. It was a good learning experience for me too, and I hope they learned from me.”
Reflecting on his career, Lovatsis saw the most of his personal growth happen off the ice. He had to learn to fend for himself while being away from home, on top of having to balance the hectic student-athlete lifestyle.
Now that his time at Concordia is drawing to a close, he’s ready to look ahead. A fork in the road awaits him; continue his hockey career or join the workforce right out of school? With the potential of going pro with a couple of teams in France, Lovatsis has some big decisions to make.
“If there are opportunities there, it’s definitely something I’d like to pursue,” he said. “There might be some opportunities in France to go pro. If something comes up and it’s worth it for me then I’ll definitely consider it. For now there’s nothing set in stone and eventually I’ll have to start looking ahead to getting a job and start making money, stuff like that. So it really depends on if it’s worth it and if it’s a good experience and whatnot.”
“If not, the plan is to apply to teacher’s college in Ontario and hopefully within the next three years become a teacher,” said Lovatsis.
When people look back on Lovatsis’ career, they’ll remember the smooth skating stride and the lighting-quick release that led to 56 career CIS goals, including playoffs.
Lovatsis, though, wants to be remembered for his role as an individual off the ice as opposed to his role as a sniper on it.
“I hope I’m remembered as a good person, as a good teammate, and as a good friend, as being there at the right time for my teammates and friends. I don’t know, I think I’m a good person, so I hope people will remember me for that.”
Nineteen years ago, if you had asked Martha Pierregiovanni and Dave Desmarais what sport their eight-year-old son, Kyle, would be playing on a professional level, they would have said football without a doubt. Today, Kyle Desmarais, a Concordia University economics student at the John Molson School of Business (JMSB), is training in the hopes of someday playing basketball professionally in Europe.
Photo by Brianna Thicke
In fact, it was football that led Desmarais to play basketball in the first place. One of his former football coaches recommended that he stay active during the winter months by playing another sport. Desmarais chose to try out for basketball.
“I started off at the Brookwood house league when I was about 14 or 15-years-old, a league out in the West Island,” Desmarais said. “From 15 to 18 [years-old], I wasn’t very good at all. I couldn’t make the inter-city teams, which I was a little upset about, but hey, I wasn’t that good. Then, a year before I [went to] Dawson, I played for the West Island Lakers AA.”
Despite his struggles when he first played house league basketball, continuing to play the sport worked out well for Desmarais however. In the summer of 2011, he helped Team Canada win the silver medal at the Summer Universiade in China, the best they had done in over 15 years. A few months later, he represented Canada at the Pan Am Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, where he had the chance to play against NBA players such as JJ Barea, who represented Puerto Rico and who had just won an NBA title with the Dallas Mavericks.
To add to his trophy case, he was part of the men’s AAA basketball team at Dawson College that won both the Provincial and National Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championship in 2007. At the national tournament, Desmarais was an all-star alongside his teammate Evens Laroche.
In order to make it on the Dawson Blues team, Desmarais had to compete against the team’s existing players. His determination and hard work are what got him a spot on the basketball team.
“To be honest, I thought he was just another kid wanting to enjoy the program and play basketball,” Laroche said. “He eventually proved that he was amongst the best point-guards in the province, when he was named a CCAA All-Canadian in [CÉGÉP]. He was a good shooter and scorer. He was definitely a huge facilitator during games at the college and university level no doubt. This surprised everyone. The good thing is that he continued that path and was once again awarded the same nomination in university.”
Being athletic and loving sports is in Desmarais’ blood. When his parents first met, his mother was an aerobics instructor and his father won several awards at a bodybuilding competition, last year.
Desmarais recalls his childhood as being a great one, with lots of love from his parents and fights with his younger sister, Melissa. The half-Italian, half-Irish basketball player considers himself a very family-oriented person.
“My father worked extremely hard to give us everything that we wanted,” says Desmarais. “I definitely got my work ethic from him.”
Dwight Walton, a former basketball player for the Canadian National team and the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), first met Desmarais at The Trevor Williams Basketball Camp back in 2004.
“We respect each other greatly,” says Walton, who played basketball in the 1988 summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea.
Walton and Desmarais share similar backgrounds. Both played for the Dawson Blues, won All-Canadian awards, and obtained free education in order to play for the NCAA in the United States.
“His parents are fantastic as well and are a major part of what Kyle has accomplished up to this point. I constantly tell him what he needs to work on and I feel comfortable doing so. He knows that it’s coming from a good place. All I want is the best for him.”
Several years ago, Desmarais would have never imagined obtaining a free education, because of his skills in basketball. However, after being named the Quebec League’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) and receiving the All-Canadian award on his third season at Dawson, Desmarais was offered a full athletic scholarship at Central Connecticut University.
However, playing NCAA basketball in Connecticut was not exactly a dream come true. After not being able to see eye-to-eye with his coach, not playing enough during games, and being homesick, Desmarais decided to come back home and play for Concordia instead.
However, Desmarais decided last summer not to return to the Stingers basketball team.
“Concordia basketball had run its course in my life, it gave me a lot of great opportunities, and I’ll always be thankful for that,” says Desmarais. “But for my own individual development it was time for me to move on. Life after Concordia basketball involves a lot more free time, less stress I would say. I get to put my time into things that will benefit me and help me in the long run. Things like studying, training and improving my skills as a basketball player.”
If playing basketball professionally overseas does not end up working out for Desmarais, he hopes to become a financial broker or adviser.
When Desmarais is not studying or training, he enjoys going to the cinema by himself. Among his favourite movies are Tombstone, Training Day and It’s a Wonderful Life.
“It’s perfect time for myself, it’s alone time. I just get to watch movies and don’t have to worry about everything else,” explains Desmarais.
Desmarais claims that it takes hard work and dedication to accomplish anything in life. However, he admits that it was sometimes very challenging to reach his goals.
“To stay mentally strong throughout the setbacks early in my career, getting cut from a team, maybe not getting the playing time I felt I deserved, stuff like that,” says Desmarais. “Mental toughness comes from believing in yourself and abilities, and knowing that if you keep working hard, the results will come.”
