Fall sports season round-up
It’s November, and the fall sports season is winding down. Many of Concordia’s teams are hanging up their uniforms until next year. Concordia NOW takes a look back at the last few weeks of competition, and looks forward as some Stingers squads continue their quest for a championship.
Football
It’s been an up-and-down year for Stingers football, but the team finished the regular season on a strong note with a 58-30 win over McGill last weekend.
Linebacker Max Caron put in a standout performance, hauling in two interceptions and returning one 96 yards for a touchdown. He finished the season with 78.5 tackles, a new conference record. Quarterback Reid Quest also played a great game, completing 23 of 31 passes for 356 yards.
Next weekend, the Stingers squad faces a tough opponent in its bid to make it to the national championships. The fourth-place Concordia team, with its 4-5 win-loss record, will face the Laval Rouge-et-Or (8-1), who finished the regular season in the top spot for the seventh time in a row. The game will take place at Université Laval’s TELUS Stadium at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
What: Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) football semi-final between Université Laval and Concordia University
Where: Stade TELUS-Université Laval, Sainte-Foy, Québec
When: Saturday, November 5 at 1 p.m.
Rugby
Concordia’s women’s rugby team left the McGill Martlets spinning in their cleats during the conference semi-finals on October 21, winning 18-8. But last weekend, the league-leading Laval Rouge-et-Or robbed the Stingers of a chance to appear in the national championships for the second year in a row. After beating Concordia twice in the regular season, Laval once again proved too dominant, dispatching the Stingers 43-27 in the conference finals.
Concordia, led by conference all-stars Hughanna Gaw, Sara Nesbitt, Claire Hortop and Latoya Blackwood, was ahead 12-3 at the half, but after the break, what had been an uncharacteristically lacklustre Laval team suddenly came alive, scoring 35 unanswered points. The Stingers did their best to come back, scoring two more tries late in the game, but it was too little too late.
In men’s rugby, Concordia is still in the hunt for the RSEQ trophy, after a 13-10 victory over the Bishop’s Gaiters last weekend. The upset came on the heels of four straight regular-season losses, including an 8-0 loss to Bishop’s. The Gaiters took an early lead in the semi-final game, but the Stingers stormed back into it, scoring 13 unanswered points against the same team that had beaten them two weeks previous. The RSEQ championship game will take place at McGill at 1 p.m. this Saturday against the division champion Redmen.
What: RSEQ men’s rugby final between McGill University and Concordia University
When: Sunday, November 6 at 1 p.m.
Where: Percival Molson Memorial Stadium, 475 Pine Ave. W., Montreal
Basketball
After two more pre-season exhibition games this weekend, Concordia’s men’s basketball team will begin regular season play on Thursday, November 10 against McGill. The two teams were 2-2 against each other last season, so this promises to be an exciting game. Keep an eye out for Concordia’s resident hoops star Kyle Desmarais, returning to action for the Stingers after representing Canada at the Pan American Games.
What: Men’s basketball season opener
When: Thursday, November 10 at 8 p.m.
Where: G. Donald Love Competition Hall, McGill Sports Centre (475 Pine Ave. W.)
The Concordia women’s basketball team also returns to action on November 10 against McGill. The Martlets won all four of the teams’ meetings last season. One player to watch out for is Stinger Kaylah Barrett, who was named to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) all-rookie team at the end of last season, after averaging 11.5 points and 7.6 rebounds during 16 games.
What: Women’s basketball season opener
When: Thursday, November 10 at 6 p.m.
Where: G. Donald Love Competition Hall, McGill Sports Centre (475 Pine Ave. W.)
Hockey
Concordia’s women’s hockey team is five games into its regular season, with a 2-3 record. This Sunday, at 2 p.m., the Stingers will attempt to avenge their 7-5 season-opening loss against McGill when they face the Martletts at McGill’s J.W. McConnell Arena.
What: Women’s hockey regular season game against McGill University
When: Sunday, November 6, 2 p.m.
Where: J.W. McConnell Arena (3883 University St.)
The Stingers men’s hockey team is set to face Ryerson’s men team this Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Concordia’s Ed Meagher Arena. The two teams faced each other twice last season, and Concordia won both games. Prize recruit Nicholas Champion, a first-rate goaltender who joined the team from the Lewiston Maineiacs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, is one rookie to watch. The young team only has one fifth-year player in its line-up: captain and defenceman Eric Bégin.
What: Men’s hockey regular season game against Ryerson University
When: Friday, November 4, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Ed Meagher Arena (7200 Sherbrooke St. W.)
Soccer
Concordia’s soccer teams both had difficult seasons this year, with neither the men nor the women making it into the post-season. The men managed to scratch out two ties and a win during their 12-game regular season, capping it with a disappointing 2-1 loss to cross-town rival McGill. The women’s soccer squad only managed to do slightly better, earning two wins and three ties over the 14-game season. After trouncing Bishop’s University 5-0, the Stingers failed to score in their last two games, losing 4-0 to Sherbrooke, and 3-0 to McGill.
Baseball
Concordia’s baseball team had a great season. Although they were beaten to the top spot in the Northern Conference of the Canadian Intercollegiate Baseball Association (CIBA) by Carleton University during the regular season, the Stingers still earned a spot in the national championship tournament, held in Moncton, N.B. During the round-robin portion of the tournament, Concordia won two games: including a 1-0 nail-biter against Carleton. It was enough to propel them into the tournament semi-finals, where they faced the Durham College Lords.
Both pitchers — Shaun Slemko of the Lords and Stinger Andre Lagarde — stepped up their games, allowing only five and seven hits respectively. The Stingers managed to tie the game at two apiece in the fourth, but the Lords, who would go on to become national champions, moved ahead by one in the fifth inning. Over the next three innings, the Lords never gave up the lead, eventually beating the Stingers 3-2 — a difficult end to a great season for Concordia.
Related links:
• Concordia Stingers
• “Stingers Shine with Shrine Bowl Win” — NOW, October 20, 2011
• “Celebrating Significant Athletic Accomplishments” — NOW, September 21, 2011