MONTREAL -- Roberto Bonalumi scored twice in his final home game as McGill tripled Concordia 3-1 to keep their playoff hopes alive in RSEQ men's soccer on Seniors Night at Percival Molson Stadium, Friday.

The three goals equaled McGill's single-game season high and the victory, combined with UQAM's 2-0 whitewash over UQTR, helped McGill (4-4-3) leap-frog past the Patriotes (4-5-2) into the fourth and final playoff berth, with one game remaining on the schedule.

McGill now controls their destiny as a road victory against third-place UQAM (6-4-1) at Stade Saputo on Sunday (3 pm) will clinch the final playoff spot in the seven-team Quebec conference. The Redmen, who have a one-point lead over UQTR (4-5-2) in the standings, can also clinch if sixth-place Concordia (2-8-1) does them a favour and knocks off the Patriotes on Sunday in Trois-Rivieres. Should both games end in a draw, then McGill would advance to play the division-leading Montreal Carabins in a conference semifinal. It would be their first playoff appearance since 2014.

Bonalumi, a 23-year-old MBA student from Italy, and one of five graduating seniors honoured before the game, needed only 90 seconds to shake off an emotional send-off and score the game's first goal. The speedy 5-foot-5, 133-pound midfielder also tallied the game's final goal in the 62nd minute to give McGill some breathing room with a two-goal cushion. He ranks second on the team with five goals in 10 contests.

Despite the sloppy start for the Stingers, they managed to regroup and tie the score at 1-1 in the 15th minute when Elias Barutciski connected on a header.

In the second half, Mehdi Ibn-Brahim was credited with the game-winner in the 58th minute when he tallied his team-leading eighth goal in nine games.

Concordia had a 9-6 advantage in shorts toward the net but McGill was more accurate, with a 5-3 edge in shots on target. McGill held a 4-3 margin in corner kicks and took only six of the 16 fouls that were called.

Stingers midfielder Henry Barutciski was the only player carded, taking a yellow in the 77th minute.

Redmen goalkeeper Antoine Marchal, a 6-foot-3 management sophomore from Montreal, kicked out two of three shots faced for the victory, while losing 'keeper Karl Gouabe was beaten three times on five shots.

Among the graduating seniors who joined Bonalumi in the pre-game ceremony was team captain Davide Salvoni, a towering 6-foot-4, 200-pound defender from St. Leonard, Que., who is a fourth-year physical education major. Others included midfielder Michael McIntyre, a physical education major from Pte. Claire, Que., defender Alexander Lamonte, an accounting major from Etobicoke, Ont., and fifth-year striker Mohamed Kleit, from Outremont, Que., who will graduate with a degree in electrical engineering.


 

2017 RSEQ Men's Soccer Standings • Classement de la saison régulière du RSEQ

Pos	Team / Équipe	GP/MJ	W/V	L/D	T/N	GF/BP	GA/BC	PTS
1	Montréal	12	10	1	1	42	8	31
2	Laval	11	7	2	2	14	9	23
3	UQAM	11	6	4	1	18	10	19
4	McGill	11	4	4	3	20	19	15
5	UQTR	11	4	5	2	16	26	14
6	Concordia	11	2	8	1	11	25	7
7	Sherbrooke	11	1	10	0	7	31	3

REMAINING GAMES ON THE 2017 RSEQ SCHEDULE

M40	Dim	2017-10-29	13:00	Concordia		UQTR		Stade Gilles-Doucet
M42	Dim	2017-10-29	13:00	Sherbrooke		Laval		PEPS-6	Web
M41	Dim	2017-10-29	15:00	McGill		UQAM		Stade Saputo (synthétique)

RSEQ Playoff Schedule • Calendrier des éliminatoires

	Game No.		Date	Heure	Visiteur	Résultat	Receveur	Endroit
Demi-finale	SM01	Ven	2017-11-03	20:15	4e position		Montréal		CEPSUM
Demi-finale	SM02	Ven	2017-11-03	À déterminer	3e position		2e position		À déterminer
Finale	SM03	Dim	2017-11-05	À déterminer	Gagnant D-F		Gagnant D-F		À déterminer