Stingers Women’s Soccer Comes Close but Falls Short Against Carabins

Stingers Show Positives in 1-0 Loss

SportsVictor Depois — Published September 16, 2018

A week after a harsh 8-1 loss in Sherbrooke, the Stingers managed to remobilize around a positive mindset, just missing out on disrupting the Carabins’ undefeated streak. They came up short in the end, losing 1-0.

The game started off strong with lots of tackles and physical contact. After a high jump into the air, followed by a bad reception on a corner kick two minutes into the game, Montréal’s defender Rose-Marie Julien got injured. The game stopped for eight minutes and the player had to be helped off the field by doctors.

After 13 minutes, the first and only goal came from Montréal’s central defender Maude Leblanc, who shot a free-kick from midfield. Nobody touched the ball, which rebounded over Stingers’ goalkeeper Carmen Milne, to end up at the back of the net.

“We’re going to take it, it’s 1-0 but honestly, I didn’t expect it to get in,” said Milne.

The Carabins dominated the game’s first half with numerous occasions coming from last year’s RSEQ’s MVP, Montréal’s forward Emmanuelle Alcindor. Despite numerous shots on target, Alcindor did not manage to widen the gap between the two teams. She was named team MVP for this game.

“I lacked rigor tonight. I think it was a very physical game, and that we should have kept more physical composure in order to score more goals,” said Alcindor.

In the second half, the Stingers managed to put more pressure on the Carabins and came close to scoring at the end of the game with a lot of work done in the midfield by Mélisane Lafrenaye.

Montréal hit the post twice during the game. Overall, the team was not happy with their performance. Maude Leblanc said that this was not how she wanted to see her team play.

“We didn’t play at our level tonight. We should have scored more goals in the first half, it would have been a completely different game. It’s not a victory for us,” noted Leblanc.

Stingers’ goalkeeper Milne managed to stay focused in spite of her first half error and kept her team afloat. She had total of eleven saves in the game and was happy with her team’s performance.

“It’s the first game where we worked our butts off and put it all on the field. It’s never great to lose but when it’s like that it’s okay, so we’re going to build on that next week,” said Milne.

The Stingers’ coach Greg Sutton was also proud of his team.

“We had some opportunities at the end. The girls put in the effort. That’s what we have to do every night. That’s what we need to continue to do. We’ll get the results, they’ll come, it’s just about staying positive and move forward.”

With only two goals in four games, it has been difficult for the Stingers to find a solution in front of the goal so far this season. It’s nothing to get worried about according to Sutton.

“By remaining creative in front of the goal they will come. We’ve played against some good teams. Especially teams like that who are strong defensively so it was going to be tough. There’s lots to build off from this game, and that what we’ve got to work on.”