Late-Game Nightmare

Women’s Soccer Collapse in Final Minutes

SportsSamantha Mileto — Published September 8, 2012

Concordia’s women’s soccer team fell apart in the last 30 minutes of play, leading to a 5-0 loss against the Université de Montréal Carabins in their season opener.

Despite pressure from the Carabins, the Stingers were able to keep them off the scoresheet for most of the first half.

In the 25th minute, the Stingers got their first scoring chance when forward Jennifer Duff passed to Melissa Kedro as she came up the wing, but Kedro managed only a weak shot at Carabins goalie Martine Julien.

In the 32nd minute, Carabins midfielder Constance de Chantal Dumont deked through the Stingers defense but only managed a weak shot herself, resulting in an easy save by Stingers goalkeeper Saby Dagenais.

Three minutes later, Carabins forward Audrey Lagresle tried to give her team the lead on a partial breakaway, but lost control of the ball as Dagenais came out to kick it out of harm’s way.

The Carabins took a 1-0 lead ten minutes later, as forward Catherine Charron-Delage split through the defense on the right side and scored down low.

Despite the numerous opportunities UdeM had to get the lead earlier, there were some positives that came out of the Stingers’ play, according to Head Coach Jorge Sanchez.

“We possessed the ball a lot,” Sanchez said. “It’s not like we sat back and let them come to us. There were moments in the game where we had possession.

“We had chances around net, but we couldn’t even get a clear shot away. That’s what makes the difference: It’s not how well you play in the middle of the field, it’s how well you play in the dangerous areas.”

Those chances continued to come at the beginning of the second half, but the Stingers struggled to get quality shots on net. Five minutes in, forward Shauna Zilversmit had a small break on the left wing, but a bouncing pass from Duff resulted in a weak shot, keeping the score 1-0 for the Carabins.

Halfway through the second half, UdeM forward Éva Thouvenot-Hébert took advantage of a free kick awarded to the Carabins and blasted a shot past Dagenais just below the crossbar, giving her team a 2-0 lead.

Not long after, Thouvenot-Hébert took a shot on goal. After Dagenais made the save, Thouvenot-Hébert buried the ball off of a rebound, putting the Carabins up by a daunting 3-0 margin.

After Carabins forward Isabelle Dumais made it 4-0, tapping in a cross from a teammate with five minutes left, midfielder Aurélie Tremblay stole the ball from a Stinger defender and blasted it in from 15 yards, scoring the team’s fifth and final goal.

Despite what seemed to be a one-sided game, the Stingers remain upbeat after the match.

“They’re the second-best team in the country and we stayed with them for 60 minutes,” Sanchez said.

“I mean, our first 60 minutes, I think we competed,” Duff echoed. “You make one mistake with a good team and they capitalize, and that’s what happened [to us tonight]. It’s our first game, I think we still have 14 more to go, so [we] have to be optimistic.

“Our communication was a lot better, so I think we’re just going to build from here.”