Women's Soccer | 10/27/2017 8:25:00 PM
Box Score
PHOTO BY DEREK DRUMMOND (L to R) Coach Jose Valdes, Justine Enns, Stefania Folino, Claudia Agozzino, Alex Tinfow, Anais Robert, Lisa Perrett & Marc Gelinas (exec. dir. of athletics & recreation)
MONTREAL -- Defender
Natasha Tcheki-Jamgotchian of Pierrefonds, Que., netted an 89th-minute penalty kick to secure a 3-2 win for McGill over Concordia in RSEQ women's soccer, Friday, at Percival Molson Stadium.
The victory kept the Martlets' playoff hopes alive and eliminated the Stingers (2-7-4), who will wrap up their season at UQTR (3-7-3) on Sunday in a battle for sixth place in the eight team RSEQ conference. McGill, which moved into third place with a 4-5-4 record, will visit fifth-place UQAM (3-4-6) in the final game of the season on Sunday (Oct. 29), a match that will decide the post-season placements.
After a nice combination play in the middle put rookie
Ariane Ducharme through, the decisive penalty shot was called when a Stingers defender pushed her from behind just as she was about to receive the ball. It appeared unclear as to who was going to take the shot before
Tcheki-Jamgotchian, a first-year transfer who played three years with Syracuse in the NCAA, stepped up to the spot and took charge.
"'Tcheki' stepped up to put it away and pretty much just smashed the ball," said
Jose-Luis Valdes, in his fifth season as head coach of the Martlets, which was preceded by a playing and coaching career with the Redmen program.
Freshman striker
Noemie Briollais of Toronto had opened the scoring for McGill in just the eighth minute of play. Concordia responded with two quick goals in the 23rd and 24th minutes, but
Nathalie Brunelle of Montreal tied things up for the Martlets in the 30th.
"In the second half we started rushing a bit more and started putting the balls forward," explained Valdes. "Not necessarily moving the ball as much, but recognizing that we needed to win. We wanted to win for our seniors and so that we could be in control and hopefully finish third this season. The girls were pushing hard. We made several subs to get fresh legs out and make sure we could maintain the high pace and sure enough, it was rewarding to get that extra opportunity and force a penalty shot."
Concordia had a 13-12 edge in shots, a 3-2 margin in corner kicks and an advantage 11-7 difference in fouls drawn.
Sarah Dubois of Edmonton collected the victory in goal for McGill and turned away four of six shots. Her Stingers counterpart,
Gabriela Angoso-Jimenez, was beaten three times on seven shots.
The match marked the Martlets' annual senior night, where six graduating players were honored, including a trio of fifth-year defenders in
Anais Robert of Ottawa,
Lisa Perrett of Vancouver, B.C., and
Alexandra Tinfow of Westfield, N.J. The fourth-year seniors were midfielder
Stefania Folino and striker
Claudia Agozzino, both native Montrealers, as well as defender
Justine Enns of Chandler, Ariz.
"Right now there's a possibility of two, maybe even three coming back for a fifth year, but they are all graduating," said head coach
Jose-Luis Valdes of his seniors, who played in front of friends and family. "All of them are very good in school, earning Academic All-Canadian honours. Our seniors night is always a fun event to have. The players through a lot of emotions, playing at home for the last time. Our new players enjoy it quite a bit because initially, they have no idea what to expect and don't really get why it's such a big night. Then you hear a few of the speeches in the locker room and you see the emotions after the game.
"We had a few former players from last year who were in the dressing room with us after the game and they really enjoyed that chance to see their former teammates. They don't live in Montreal and they drove or flew in to come spend some time with the girls. We've been able to build something over the past five years where the girls really care about their last game and about the experience that they've had here. It's really good for our program."
| 2017 RSEQ Women's Soccer Satandings • Classement de la saison régulière du RSEQ |
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