Tag: Women’s Soccer

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Stingers honour Erica Cadieux in draw versus UQTR

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The Stingers women’s soccer team hands gifts to the family of Erica Cadieux for donation. Photo by Alex Hutchins.

Concordia collected donations, gifts for Children’s Hospital in memory of former student-athlete

The Concordia Stingers women’s soccer team tied 2-2 against the Université de Québec à Trois-Rivières Patriotes in the Erica Cadieux Memorial Game on Sept. 22.

For a 12th year in a row, the Stingers held a game in memory of Cadieux, a former Stingers soccer player. She played for Concordia from 1992 to 1994, while double-majoring in political science and Spanish.

Cadieux was killed after being hit by a car while walking with her 18-month-old daughter, who survived, in Beaconsfield on Jan. 27, 2006. Every year since, her family and friends gather at Concordia Stadium to remember her.

“We can’t express enough our gratitude to the university for this honour,” said Yolanda Cadieux, Erica’s mother. “It’s just been wonderful for our family.”

Yolanda said that after Erica’s death, some of her former Stingers teammates wanted to come up with a way to honour their friend.

“We wanted this to be a meaningful thing, something she would be proud of,” Yolanda said. “We decided the Montreal Children’s Hospital would be our focus, and we would try and raise money [for the hospital].” While Erica was a student at Concordia, she volunteered in the neurological wing of the Montreal Children’s Hospital.

The Stingers women’s soccer team accepted donations and gifts for kids at the game, which they send to the Children’s Hospital. This year, the Stingers said they received over $500 in donations, plus multiple children’s toys and games.

This year’s game featured a different way to honour Erica—her family, her former teammates and Stingers alumni gathered for a reception before the game.

“We had former players here from the late 1980s,” said head coach Jorge Sanchez. “We told [the current players], ‘Some of you weren’t even born when they played here, but you all have something that unites you together.’” Current and former players shared their connection with soccer and the Stingers, two things Erica loved most.

“[The Stingers were] everything for Erica,” Yolanda said. “It was what made Concordia great for her, because I think there’s something about the friendship you have in a sports setting that transcends the school.”

Every year, Erica’s widowed husband, Carlo Spadafora, would bring their daughters, Bianca, 13, and Olivia, 12, to the game. But this year, Spadafora and the two girls were unable to make the trip to Montreal from Sault Ste-Marie, Ont. Yolanda said she was disappointed her granddaughters, who play soccer like their mom did, couldn’t go.

“I think when my granddaughters called me and told me they weren’t coming, I said, ‘You have to realize that this is a tremendous honour for the university to hold a special game in memory of your mom,’” Yolanda said.

However, the rest of Erica’s family, including her parents, sisters, nieces and nephews, were present. It gave the game a fun, family atmosphere, something rarely seen at Stingers soccer games.

Midfielder Laura Lamontagne passes the ball against the UQTR Patriotes on Sept. 22. Photo by Alex Hutchins.

Concordia got off to a weak start when defender Kate Evoy made a bad pass to the keeper, Olivia Desgroseilliers. UQTR’s Valerie Noel intercepted the ball, got past Desgroseilliers and ran in to score just 10 minutes into the game.

Evoy redeemed herself in the 27th minute when she sent forward Sarah Humes on a breakaway with a long pass. Humes made no mistake, blasting the ball past the helpless UQTR keeper.

Just two minutes later, midfielder Chama Sedki scored from a free kick 35 yards away from the net. The Stingers carried the lead into halftime, but the Patriotes tied the game at 2-2 in the 55th minute when Magali Gravel scored off a corner kick.

“I thought we had our chances just like they did, and it could have gone either way,” Sanchez said. “It was one of those games where teams were risky to try and get the win, and we ended up with the tie, so we shared the pain.”

Before the memorial game, the Concordia men’s soccer team lost 3-1 to UQTR. On Sept. 24, the women won 1-0 against the McGill Martlets, while the men lost 3-0 to McGill. Both teams will have an away game against the Sherbrooke Vert et Or on Sept. 29.

Main photo by Alex Hutchins

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Late goal lifts Stingers squad over Patriotes

Concordia’s women’s soccer team prevails after a spirited contest with UQTR

The Concordia’s women’s soccer team headed into last week’s emotional ninth annual Erica Cadieux memorial contest against the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) with the singular focus of picking up a win. The game honoured the memory of the former Stingers player who was fatally struck by a vehicle in January of 2006. The team rallied together and delivered a 2-1 win against UQTR.

“The goal is to win, it’s just that simple. I think if we give a good effort, we’re going to win,” said Stingers head coach Jorge Sanchez before the game.

The pregame ceremony featured Cadieux’s family, widower Carlo Spadafora and daughters Bianca, 10, and Olive, 9, receiving gifts and donations from both teams on behalf of the Montreal Children’s Hospital.

The Stingers jumped out of the gate, frantically pressuring the ball and dictating the pace of the game. After a deep run into UQTR’s zone that resulted in a corner kick, Stingers rookie centre back Laurence Thivierge scored her first goal of the season off a great individual effort after the botched set piece play.

On the defensive side, fellow defender and Stingers captain Alex Dragan provided a calming presence on the back end, stymieing the Patriotes’ attack all throughout the first half.

Photo by Briana Thicke.

The Stingers continued to roll in the second half overcoming an early Patriotes surge, which produced many key chances for the rival side. However, Concordia’s defence finally broke with five minutes left in the game. The Patriotes pressed, looking desperately for an equalizer. Then, a UQTR free kick lobbed in the box resulted in a mad scramble in front of Concordia starting goalkeeper Alexandra Lato. After she made the initial save, incidental contact with a slew of nearby UQTR attackers forced the ball loose. That’s when Patriots striker Marie-Laurence Ouellet buried home the equalizer on a feed from midfielder Gabrielle Lambert.

Tense moments arose immediately following the play as Lato went down to what appeared to be an apparent head injury. The emergency services were called as the crowd collectively held their breath hoping for the best. After the lengthy delay that saw Concordia lose their starting keeper, the Stingers regrouped to play out the final two minutes.

“When she went down, we just regrouped, we told ourselves it happens, it’s unfortunate, but we have to come back and respond,“ said Stingers midfielder Shauna Zilversmit.

And respond they did.

In a 90th minute surge, Zilversmit stormed up the field and delivered an immaculate strike past the outstretched arms of the Patriotes’ goalkeeper. Giving her team the win and moving Concordia into fourth place in the standings with a 3-3-1 record.

“You just have to stay calm and play as composed as possible,” said Dragan.

The Stingers’ composure in the face of adversity proved to be the difference in the match, which featured an emotional roller coaster of events.

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Stingers play to draw against the Carabins

Photo by Elysia-Marie Campbell

The women’s team shut down one of the best teams in the country and earn a valuable point.

The Concordia Stingers women’s soccer team was looking to add another win on the season when they hosted the Carabins from Université de Montréal on Friday, Sept. 26. Heading into the game, the Carabins were the fifth best team in the country with an undefeated record of 5-0-1. Although it wasn’t a win, the Stingers fought hard for a well-deserved 0-0 draw.

The first half was a tight affair as both teams each started with chances to open the scoring, but good goalkeeping and solid defense by both teams kept the game scoreless. Even within the first few minutes of the match, spectators could tell that this was going to be defensive battle.

Photo by Elysia-Marie Campbell

The Carabins have relied on their high-powered offense to win games this season, but on Friday, the Stingers’ defense refused to break. By the end of the first half each team had their chances to score, but both sides failed to capitalize on their opportunities.

The second half started with an all-out attack by the Carabins as they searched to break the deadlock. Concordia’s goalkeeper Maria Kaperonis kept her team in the game by saving every shot that came her way. By the end of the night, Kaperonis and her defensive unit would hand the Carabins their first goalless match of the season.

The best chance the Stingers had was when defenseman Lindsey Brooks took possession from her own defensive zone into the Carabins’ box, only to be turned aside by Carabins goalkeeper Sarah Boucher. The game opened up with a back-and-forth pace as both teams pushed for the opening goal, but neither teams could find the back of the net.

After the game, Stingers head coach Jorge Sanchez was impressed with the draw and pleased with how his team played against such a strong opponent. Although both teams headed into this game looking for a win, the Stingers can be proud of their play against the Carabins.

“We played a really good first half. I think we dominated them and we had 70 per cent possession,” he said. “I feel like we didn’t play a good second half but I’m happy we stole a point off the fifth best team in the country.”

Brooks was by far the player of the game and, like her coach, was pleased with how her team played.

“It was honestly a great effort,” she said. “I feel like I did my job. We knew we were playing the fifth best team in the country. I feel like we put in the work and it was a good team effort, and I felt we were solid on defense.”

The Stingers next home game is on Wednesday, Oct. 3, versus the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) at 6:30 p.m.

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Concordia falls to Laval in must-win game

It’s been years since Concordia’s women’s soccer team made the playoffs. This season, it came down to the final game on Sunday to officially eliminate the team from playoff contention.

The Stingers lined up with the same 4-4-2 formation as usual. Melissa Kedro partnered with the team’s leading goal scorer Jennifer Duff up front. Shauna Zilversmit, Elizabeth Allard, Valerie Ishak and Gabriela Padvaiskas formed the midfield. At the back, Alexandra Dragan, Shannon Travers, Philippa Lyttle and Kayla Myre played ahead of Saby Dagenais in goal.

Laval were the stronger side from the start. The visitors forced Concordia to defend for most of the first half. The Stingers were able to defend well by staying organized and with their compressed playing.

The Rouge et Or had the first real chance of the match. In the 18th minute, a corner kick from the right bounced inside the six-yard box. Concordia’s Ishak made two great blocks with her body to deny a goal.

Five minutes later, Laval would get the opening goal. From another corner, the ball flew to an unmarked Frédérique Paradis. Her header towards goal was tipped in by teammate Gabrielle Lapointe.

In the 28th minute, the Stingers were close to grabbing the equalizer. Duff controlled a through ball and set off towards goal. A last minute slide tackle by a Laval defender inside the penalty area, thwarted the attack.

Before the first half was over, Laval had a few more quality chances to double its lead. With one minute remaining, Dagenais had to make a massive save by denying a Laval player from point blank range. She ended up making a total of eight saves in this encounter.

In the second half, knowing only a win would save the season, the Stingers came out firing on all cylinders. In the 60th minute, Duff had a chance to tie the game with her shot from outside the box. The ball bounced by everyone, including the Laval goalkeeper, but ended up hitting the right goal post.

Seconds later, on the other side of the pitch, Laval would make Concordia pay for the miss. After making a good run, Léa Chastenay-Joseph was able to receive a long ball and dribbled alone on a breakaway. She made no mistake sliding the ball under Dagenais and into the Stingers’ goal.

The rest of the match was very physical, but the maroon and gold was unable to get back into the game. This loss in the final game officially ended the Stingers’ season.

“We’ve overcome a lot this year in terms of injuries and players learning new positions,” said head coach Jorge Sanchez. “We got some results, but we just ran out of steam at the end.”

Concordia played an organized match, but a few slip-ups cost them two goals. Having a bit of luck would have also been nice, as Duff’s shot off the post would have completely changed the game if it went in the net.

“We hit a post, and 30 seconds later, they scored. I think that was the game right there,” said Sanchez. “We would have had momentum and we would have been one mistake away on their behalf from getting a goal to go ahead.”

With the loss, Concordia ends their season with six wins, five losses and three draws, good enough for 21 points. This fifth place finish is the Stingers’ highest since 2007.

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Concordia moves to within one point of the playoffs

After a 4-0 win against the Bishop’s Gaiters on Friday night, the Concordia’s women’s soccer team returned home to face the UQÀM Citadins on Sunday afternoon.

Concordia came into this match needing all three points to stay close to the playoffs. The Stingers found themselves in fifth place prior to the start of the match. UQÀM was already mathematically eliminated from playoff contention and were playing for pride.

In the first meeting of the season, Concordia defeated the Citadins 4-0 at UQÀM. Stingers head coach Jorge Sanchez was hoping for a similar result.

The first half was quiet with both sides only having a couple of chances each. The Stingers threatened first in the sixth minute when midfielder Melissa Kedro found space inside the box. Her shot went sailing over the bar.

In the 24th minute, the maroon and gold thought they opened the scoring. A scramble in the UQÀM box led to the ball crossing over the goal line. The referee however spotted an infraction and the goal was denied.

The Citadins had their two chances later in the half. Stingers goalkeeper Brittany O’Rourke made a good save on one of the chances.

Although Concordia seemed to be more in control than UQÀM, both teams went into the halftime break in search of the first goal.

In the 59th minute, the fans at Concordia Stadium thought they’d see the first goal. Kedro found herself alone inside the box, but she was unable to get a shot off.

Six minutes later, the deadlock was finally broken. Concordia worked their way into the UQÀM half and managed to get the ball inside the box. Stingers striker Jennifer Duff got the ball inside the rolled her close-range shot under the UQÀM goalkeeper.

The goal gave Concordia momentum and they dominated until the final whistle. Duff and Kedro each had opportunities to double the team’s lead, but the Citadins managed to defend the chances.

Finally, in the 84th minute, the Stingers would seal the win. Kedro dribbled down the left flank and sent in a cross. The ball struck a UQÀM defender’s hand and the referee had no choice but to award the penalty kick. Duff stepped up and converted the penalty with ease.

Duff has been in great form as of late. After a hat trick on Friday, Sunday’s two goals takes her season tally to 12 goals. She is currently one goal behind the league lead.

“It’s always nice to score,” she said. “I think the main thing was that we won our games. That was the goal for the weekend.”

Sanchez understands how important this win means to his side. He said without the victory, his team would have trouble catching up to the last playoff spot.

“I told the players after the game that I wouldn’t bet against us in the playoffs,” he said. “Whether we get in or not, I’m proud of them. I’m proud of the way they worked.”

 

The 2-0 win now sees Concordia in touching distance of the playoffs. The team heads to Sherbrooke on Friday evening before playing Laval at home on Sunday afternoon. Laval sits in third place in the league, two points ahead of the Stingers.

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Late goal puts Carabins on top

The Stingers women’s soccer team gave first place Université de Montreal Carabins a run for their money but came up short in a 3-2 loss on Sunday afternoon at Concordia Stadium.

The last time these teams met this season, the Carabins beat the Stingers by a score of 5-0. The team has substantially improved and has one thing they didn’t have in the first game, according to head coach Jorge Sanchez.

“A lot of what we have more of is confidence,” said Sanchez. “Results get confidence and confidence gets results.”

This loss is the first for the Stingers in five games. Their last loss came on Sept. 23 against Sherbrooke. Since then, they won and and tied twice and lost once, including today’s result.

“It’s tough, we’ve been on a good run,” said Sanchez. “We took goals from Laval, we took points from McGill, and taking points against them would’ve been a great accomplishment. They’re the second ranked team in the country.”

The game started with both teams getting their equal share of chances. Stingers keeper Saby Dagenais kept the score even when she pulled off an amazing fingertip save in the 22nd minute.

However, the Carabins did manage a goal in the 27th minute. Samantha Gauthier showed great individual skill, splitting the Stingers defence with a burst of speed to smoothly put it over the keeper with a nice touch.

Concordia worked hard to get back into the game, and they got their chance with a set of corners in the 32nd minute. Philippa Lyttle had her volley blocked after a corner, leading to another one. She then got the ball in the box from the second corner kick, spun around, and placed it in the bottom corner. The game was tied at one apiece.

The second half started in the same fashion as the first, both teams getting their fair shares of opportunities. A good set of runs on the wing by Stingers forward Melissa Kedro gave Concordia two good chances to take the lead, but both were parried by a strong Carabins defensive line.

The deadlock broke when Carabins midfielder Éva Thouvenot-Hébert hit a free kick from 35 yards out in the 58th minute that eluded the Stingers keeper and found its way in the back of the net.

The Stingers proved that they’re capable of coming back from behind. A partial break from Stingers Gabriela Padvaiskas was impressively saved by the Carabins keeper. The time was quickly winding down.

After a Concordia corner was cleared successfully by Montreal’s defense, a quick counter from the Stingers defenders led to Padvaiskas having her shot trickle into the back of the net in the 73rd minute.

The game remained tied, but the Carabins got more chances, hitting a crossbar and a post in the process. As time winded down, the unthinkable happened. A Carabins player came in from the left side, cut in perfectly, and hit the bar. The rebound was smoothly put in by Carabins striker Isabelle Dumais.

Despite the loss, coach Sanchez said he was happy with the game.

“We were five minutes away from tying a great team,” he said. “We were competitive, we fought hard and we stayed in the game. I’m very proud of the girls.”

The Stingers find themselves four points out of a playoff spot with four matches remaining. The next game is on Oct. 19 when they travel to play the last place Bishop’s University.

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Concordia comes back to earn a draw against McGill

Concordia’s women’s soccer team was back at home after a two-game road trip over the weekend. They faced the McGill Martlets on Wednesday in a rescheduled match from Sept. 14. That game was cancelled due to poor weather conditions.

Coach Jorge Sanchez used a familiar starting lineup for this derby match. Jennifer Duff and Gabriela Padvaiskas started up front as strikers. Shauna Zilversmit, Valerie Ishak, Kayla Myre and Melissa Kedro completed the midfield. Saby Dagenais got the start in goal. She was protected by defenders Alexandra Dragan, Shannon Travers, Philippa Lyttle and Lindsey Brooks.

The Wednesday night match started well for the visiting McGill side. The first scoring chance of the night came 11 minutes in. From around 25 yards out, defender Kelsey Wilson curled a free kick just past the right post.

McGill continued to dictate play. The visitors quickly transitioned up the pitch and were able to find gaps in the midfield. In the 20th minute, Martlets forward Meghan Bourque found lots of time and space in the middle and decided to unleash a rocket towards the ConU goal. Her strike from 30 yards out touched the crossbar and bounced very close to the goal line. The assistant referee deemed the ball to have completely crossed the goal line and the point was awarded.

The Martlets almost doubled their lead three minutes before the break as a free-kick from the right side found defender Bahar Sansar alone in front and she easily beat Dagenais. Fortunately for the Stingers, the assistant referee had his flag up signaling an offside.

Concordia was much improved in the final 45 minutes. Eleven minutes into the second half, Kedro had a good chance to test McGill’s goalkeeper from atop the box. The chance was squandered as the ball skipped past her foot.

The miss would prove to be costly as the Martlets went up 2-0 off a free kick down in the corner of the Concordia half. Sansar whipped in a ball that ended up flying over everyone in the box and into the top corner of the goal. Dagenais had little chance to stop the perfectly placed shot.

Despite being down two goals, the Stingers never gave up in the match. In the 63rd minute, they were rewarded with a penalty kick for a handball infraction inside McGill’s penalty area. Duff, Concordia’s leading scorer, made no mistake from the spot.

Seven minutes later, the maroon and gold would find the equalizer. From a free kick from the right side, Kedro got on the end of the kick and accurately placed her header into the corner of the McGill goal.

There would be no more goals to finish of the match. With the draw, Concordia moves to within one point of the final playoff spot in the RSEQ conference. They are trailing the Laval Rouge et Or.

“I’m proud of how hard we fought,” said Sanchez of his team. “We didn’t get down, we kept going. When we got the penalty, we had enough time left where we knew it would be interesting and we scored a great goal right after.”

With six matches to go, Concordia is in a good position to qualify for the playoffs. It’s been more than five years since the team last made it. The Stingers will need to continue to pick up points in their remaining fixtures.

“Our goal is to get four points between this game and next week’s game against McGill,” Sanchez added. “We got one, now we have to get the three next week.”

 

Concordia’s next match is on Oct. 11 at 6:30 p.m. The team travels to McGill for round two to try and settle this stalemate.

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Con U thrashes UQÀM on the road

After a disappointing draw last Sunday, Concordia’s women’s soccer team hit the road to face the UQÀM Citadins. The Stingers dominated the 90 minutes in all aspects. Two goals in each half secured an important three points.

The maroon and gold kept the same 4-4-2 formation. Head coach Jorge Sanchez made two changes to his starting lineup. Shauna Zilversmit and Gabriela Padvaiskas got the start, replacing Alexandra Dragan and Bella James.

Concordia forward Jennifer Duff was influential in the first 10 minutes of this match. She had a great chance two minutes in, but her header was saved by UQÀM goalkeeper Valérie Labbé. In the 10′ minute, Duff got on the end of a poor UQÀM back pass, but failed to hit an open goal.

One minute later, Duff earned her side a penalty kick after being taken down by an UQÀM defender. She made no mistake sending the ball to the back of the goal.

In the 23′ minute, Duff had another stellar moment. This time, her shot at the UQÀM goalkeeper was spilled, leaving Stingers midfielder Shauna Zilversmit with an easy tap-in.

Ten minutes before halftime, Concordia failed to capitalize on a free kick. The UQÀM back-line was unable to clear the ball, leaving Bella James with an open net but was unable to add the third goal.

The Citadins had one major chance to score. In the 39′ minute, a good combination play left Sabrina Addona with a shot on goal. It led to a corner kick and then the ball found Addona again, but her shot was saved by a sprawling Brittany O’Rourke in goal for the Stingers.

In the second half, Concordia started where they left off. Six minutes in, Duff scored her second goal of the match. She received a ball atop the 18-yard-box, spun around a defender and calmly placed her shot into the corner. This was the first time Concordia scored three goals  in a game this year.

Concordia continued to dominate the match with chance after chance. The ball never seemed to leave the UQÀM half of the field. In the dying moments of the match, the Stingers would make it 4-0. Substitute Frédérique Labelle scored from a good passing play started by Emily Hubbard and James.

“We had a really good start to the game,” said Sanchez. “We got two goals very quickly, so that made us confident. From that moment on, I think we took control of the game.

In previous matches, finishing chances seemed to be the team’s biggest problem. Everything was perfect on Thursday and Sanchez hopes things will be the same on Sunday.

“I think what I’m most satisfied about is that players didn’t use last week’s result as an excuse to underperform,” he said. “They came out strong and wanted to erase last game from their minds, and they did.”

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