Stingers 2, Citadins 0: Stingers triumph over Citadins
Women’s soccer team gets its first win of the season
The Concordia women’s soccer team finally picked up its first win of the season against the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) Citadins in a 2-0 win at Concordia Stadium on Sept. 22.
Forward Rachel Vermaire scored her first two goals of the season, both being assisted by forward Ashley Burdick, who was impressive in her debut for the Stingers.
The game was very close and remained 0-0 at halftime. After the restart, however, the Stingers came out flying on the wings which created scoring chances for Vermaire.
When asked what went right in this game in comparison to the previous ones, head coach Krzysztof Kmiecik talked about the finishing.
“We’re obviously still looking to find the right system and who goes where,” Kmiecik said. “But today we had some players come up from the second team that made an impact. We finished our chances but we obviously still have a lot of work to do.”
The second team call-up was Ashley Burdick who became the primary difference maker for the Stingers in the game. She came off the bench in the first half and utilized her speed and tenacity to set up two tremendous chances for Vermaire to finish.
“It’s my first game of the season so going in there and giving two assists feels really amazing and accomplishing,” Burdick said postgame. “I’ve never felt this way in all my years of soccer so I feel great.”
The call-up demonstrates the depth of the Stingers soccer program, as Burdick had never dressed with the team prior to the game, according to assistant coach Chloe Ricciardi.
Kmiecik was willing to try new players and mix things up. The biggest example was playing Anna Di Primio—a natural full-back—as a striker for most of the game. She put in a strong performance, applying significant pressure on the opposing team and creating chances for the Stingers.
“I felt a lot of energy since the beginning. I was really hungry to score and win today,” Di Primio said. “We want to keep that energy and play well like this for the rest of the season.”
The Stingers’ next game is against their fiercest rival the McGill University Martlets, where they will try to start a mini win streak.
“We have McGill next and that’s going to be a big game,” Kmiecik said, “so we’ll see how we can carry this win into our upcoming games.”
The game is scheduled for Sept. 27 at Molson Stadium with a 6 p.m. kickoff.
