MONTREAL -- If they wrote a Hollywood script about this, nobody would believe the ending.

Rookie striker Mahdi Abbassi of Montreal scored into a vacated net in the 89th minute of play as the UQTR Patriotes escaped with a 1-0 decision over McGill, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, in a thrilling RSEQ men's university soccer opener, Wednesday, at Percival Molson Stadium.

The result took some lustre off the 130th year since the McGill soccer program was founded in 1894.

Just a minute earlier, McGill appeared poised to come away with a 1-0 victory when striker Joseph Getz was awarded a penalty-kick after UQTR defender Emilie Boivin was called for handball in the box. Getz fired a shot towards the inside of the goal-post but Patriotes goalkeeper Mathieu Lacharite, a 6-foot-2 junior from Boucherville, Que., guessed correctly and made a diving stop to his left. The ball bounced out of bounds and McGill was awarded a corner kick.

Redbirds forward Lefika Noko lofted the ensuing corner into a crowded box but Pats defender Hugo Raposo kicked the ball out to the 30-yard line, where a McGill defender was unable to retain control. That resulted in a 4-on-1 counter-attack by the Patriotes, with Maxime Annabi passing ahead to Vincent Lamy, who streaked down the left flank, out-manouevered both the lone McGill defender and the goalkeeper, to find two teammates alone in front of a gaping net. The result was a glorious missed opportunity for McGill against a perennial Top 3 program in the seven-team RSEQ conference.

The game featured seven yellow cards, including four issued towards the home side and one to UQTR goalkeeper coach Felix Clapin-Girard in the 81st minute. The Pats took 15 of the 22 fouls called in the game.

McGill had a 10-9 advantage in attempted shots but UQTR held a 4-3 margin on target. The Redbirds had a 5-2 edge in corners.

Lacharite, the Pats 'keeper, was credited with the win and a three-save shutout. McGill sophomore Ludovyck Ciociola made three saves in a losing cause.

UQTR (1-0-0) will host Montreal (0-0-1) on Friday (Sept. 1), while McGill (0-1-0) will play visiting Concordia (0-0-1) at Molson Stadium in a Sunday matinee at 1 p.m.

REDBIRDS RAP: Defender Bilal Bouchemella, a 22-year-old computer science junior from St. Hubert, Que., was wearing the captain's armband... The alternate captains are expected to be announced shortly... McGill's 30-member team roster features a dozen freshmen, six sophomores, eight juniors and four seniors... The geographical breakdown includes seven players from Quebec, six from British Columbia, four from Ontario, one from Alberta, four from France, two from Brazil, plus one apiece from Algeria, Bermuda, Japan, Morocco, Spain, Switzerland and the U.S. The roster is not set, however, as the Redbirds will hold an open tryout session (with a registration fee of $20) for full-time McGill students on Sept. 5, from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Molson Stadium.

BOXSCORE

RSEQ STANDINGS & STATS

SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
CELL: 514-983-7012
WEBSITE:www.mcgillathletics.ca
E-MAIL:earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca