Men’s Soccer: Stingers Optimistic Despite Loss to UQAM

Felipe Costa De Souza Header Seal’s Opening Season Win for Citadins

SportsAlexander Perez — Published September 1, 2017

Concordia’s lack of ambition towards the opposing goal was their downfall in a 1-0 against UQAM. The Stingers were pegged back in their own defensive zone for the whole first half, allowing UQAM to dominate possession.

“We played very conservative, very low pressure,” said Stingers captain Olivier Georges. “I think we maybe respected a bit too much […].”

The second half saw the Stingers move forward with ambition, but they were denied any chance in front of the goal. Stingers head coach Greg Sutton feels that there needs to be simplicity in the team’s midfield, stating that “we overcomplicated it by taking too many touches.”

With no attacking options in front of goal, UQAM would eventually capitalize with a goal from Felipe Costa De Souza who headed the ball to the right corner of the net.

With seven players out of the starting eleven for the Stingers being new recruits, Sutton labeled the match as a “fair result”.

“I’m not disappointed by any means,” said Sutton. “We have to just clean up some things and continue to work on trying to play as a team and I think that’s the challenge right now.”

The team felt optimistic after the match, with some positive takeaways moving forward into the season.

One of those takeaways was the performance of Swedish midfielder, Otto Cardell. Dominant at midfield, Cardell did not hesitate to throw himself into challenges in order for the team to regain possession.

Cardell left both Georges and Sutton impressed with his performance. Georges stated that he has a lot of respect for players like Cardell, who work hard to regain possession on the field. “Otto would sacrifice his whole body,” Continued Georges.

“Otto’s a beast in there, if he plays up to his capabilities I think he can be an all-star in the league,” said Sutton. “He’s gonna create a lot of turnovers for us in midfield and he’s very good with the ball at his feet.”

Flattered by the praise he received by his captain and head coach, Cardell still felt that he and the team can do better.

“I think if the team had more possession on the ball, we would’ve played better,” said Cardell. “We have to move the ball quicker, especially in the middle. When we change sides, we gotta keep talking to each other a lot and get players into the box.”

The Stingers host Université Laval Rouge et Or on Friday Sept. 15.