Fall sports season update
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. 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 and was named the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) Outstanding Defensive Player of the year. Quarterback Reid Quest also played a great game, completing 23 of 31 passes for 356 yards.
The Stingers squad faced 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, lost to the Laval Rouge-et-Or (8-1), who finished the regular season in the top spot for the seventh time in a row.
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 made it past the first round of the playoffs with a win over the Bishop’s Gaiters. The upset came on the heels of four straight regular-season losses, including an 8-0 loss to Bishop’s. However, in the second round of the RSEQ series, the Stingers lost to the division champion McGill Redmen who took the championship game.
Basketball
After two more pre-season exhibition games this weekend, Concordia’s men’s basketball team will next play on Saturday, November 19 against Laval.
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 regular season game
When: Saturday, November 19 at 4 p.m.
Where: Concordia Gymnasium (3883 University St.)
The Concordia women’s basketball team is next in action on November 19 against Laval. One player to watch 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 regular season game
When: Saturday, November 19 at 6 p.m.
Where: Concordia Gymnasium (3883 University St.)
Hockey
Concordia’s women’s hockey team is eight games into its regular season, with a 3-5 record. This Sunday, at 3 p.m., the Stingers will attempt to avenge their recent heartbreaking loss as they host the UQAM Citadins.
What: Women’s hockey regular season game against Université du Québec Montréal
When: Sunday, November 20, 3 p.m.
Where: J.W. McConnell Arena (3883 University St.)
The Stingers men’s hockey team is set to face Nipissing’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, with each team taking a win. 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 Nipissing University
When: Friday, November 18, 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
• “Jocks really POP” — NOW, September 21, 2011