Late Heroics Not Enough
Stingers Fall to 1-5 on Season
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A late rally wasn’t enough for Concordia’s women’s soccer team to recover from a three-goal deficit as the Sherbrooke Vert et Or cruised to a 3-1 victory at Loyola Field on Sept. 25.
“We played well in sequences, but we made bad mistakes at bad moments, and when we had the situations contained, they were able to find ways to score, and we’re not mature enough as a team to play from behind,” said Stingers head coach Jorge Sanchez.
It took a little while for the two sides to really get going, but at the 27th minute Stingers mid-fielder Andrée Robbins tested the opposition, only to be stopped by Vert et Or goalkeeper Elena Waldispuehl.
This missed opportunity gave Sherbrooke some momentum, and within minutes, Vert et Or attacker Chloé Belhumeur-Limoges connected on a pass from attacker Josée Bélanger to put their side up 1-0.
From that point on, Stingers goalkeeper Brittany O’Rourke was tested often. Though she made an impressive diving stop at the end of the first half, at the beginning of the second she could not stop Bélanger from finding the back of the net to put Sherbrooke up 2-0.
O’Rourke’s goaltending held up until the 35th minute of the second half, when Bélanger added her second of the game to give her squad a commanding 3-0 lead.
As Sherbrooke had the game in their possession, head coach Andréanne Gagné thought her team could have played better. “We have to take our opportunities, and we have to play more physical,” said Gagné.
The game wasn’t all bad news for the Stingers, as prior to Bélanger’s second goal, Stingers defender Alexandra Dragan nearly got one past Waldispuehl. It was mid-fielder Melissa White-Kendro, however, who would break the shutout, when she directed the ball off of defender Philippa Lyttle into the net late in the game.
With the clock ticking, White-Kendro nearly added a second strike, but her kick was stopped at the goal line.
Although his team was outmatched, Sanchez blames part of the loss on Bélanger’s skill level, noting that she was invited to take part in the World Cup. “When you have a player of that quality, it’s very hard to match up under the best of circumstances,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Stingers players blamed the loss in part on their fatigue, after using up all of their energy to contain the top-ranked Université de Montréal Carabins in Sept. 23’s 5-0 loss. “In the last few weeks we’ve had trouble bouncing back from the Friday game to be mentally and physically prepared for the Sunday game,” said Robbins.
The Stingers will try to get a win Sept. 30 when they head to Lennoxville to take on the Bishop’s University Gaiters. Kickoff is at 4:00 p.m.
