QUEBEC CITY --
Jérémy Ménard connected on a left-footed strike in the 65th minute of play as Laval rallied with a pair of second-half goals for a 2-1 victory over visiting McGill in men's university soccer at Stade PEPS, Friday.
It was a rough-and-tumble affair that featured seven yellow cards, four to the Redfbirds.
McGill scored early despite arriving late for the game. The team bus reached the venue about 20 minutes before the scheduled kickoff, after winding its way past a major traffic accident on the highway near Trois-Rivieres.
Freshman
Joseph Getz of Vancouver, B.C., had given the Redbirds a 1-0 advantage in the 22nd minute but Laval's
Heikel Jarras was credited with knotting the score at 1-1 some nine minutes into the second half when a McGill defender accidently headed his direct kick for an own-goal.
Laval 'keeper
Philippe Blouin saved two of three shots for the victory, while McGill's
Chris Cinelli-Faia saved four of six and took the loss.
Both head coaches were issued cautions in the 73rd minute after an on-field skirmish following a warning card given to McGill's
Jean-Marc Yao. Other McGillians to be flagged were
Tomas Alvarez and
Nicolas Destaing. Laval's carded players were
Vincent Lavigne and
Jean-Philippe Levesque.
The fifth-place Redbirds dropped to 2-4-2 in the RSEQ standings, five points behind Concordia (3-1-3), which holds onto the last playoff berth.Five games remain on McGill's schedule, including a key road matchup with the Stingers on Oct. 24. Up next for the Redbirds is a road meeting with winless UQAM (0-4-2), which sits five points behind in sixth-place, at Stade Saputo, on Friday, Oct. 15 at 8:15 p.m.
Laval improved their second-place record to 4-1-2, four points behind division-leading Montreal (6-1-0). The Rouge et Or play net at Sherbrooke (0-6-1) on Oct. 17.
GAME STATS
RSEQ STATS & STANDINGS
SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012 (Off.)
m.athletics.mcgill.ca (mobile website)
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca
