Ryan Reisert

Ryan Reisert

Sunday evening featured a McGill soccer double-header, with each team facing highly ranked Université de Montréal squads. Both the Redmen and the Martlets wanted to bounce back from losses against Sherbrooke on Friday, but faced higher caliber opponents in the Carabins.

The fourth-ranked Redmen began the evening with a resounding 3-1 win over the number eight Université de Montréal squad, in a game in which tempers were running high from start to finish. The first half saw offensive domination alternate, as McGill kept it mostly in Montreal’s zone for the first 25 minutes, and then generated few offensive chances until the end of the first half. First year defender Alexis Pradie opened up scoring at the 45th minute with a penalty kick obtained after UdeM’s Maxime Pinton received a red card. The goal was Pradie’s first of the season, and gave the Redmen the boost they needed heading into the second half.

The Redmen got off to an excellent start in the second half with a 49th minute goal by Sebastien Monroe, assisted by Alex King. Although the Carabins were down a man, they never let up the pressure. In the 62nd minute of play, Vincent de Bruille scored on a great kick that lept over Redmen keeper Matt Gilmour. Sensing the game was finally within reach, the Carabins took their foot off the gas, forcing Gilmour to make a tremendous save at the 78 minute mark. “It’s always difficult to play a team that’s one man down, and even two, because they have nothing to lose, so they don’t think, they just work,” Head Coach David Simon said. “We survived that pressure, so that’s good.”

Things started getting out of hand for the Carabins when they were handed three red cards in the final eight minutes of play, including one to Montreal Head Coach Pat Raimondo, an ex-Redmen head coach. McGill’s man advantage led to a breakaway goal by Axel Dovi in the 89th minute of play, tripling the Redmen’s lead and ruining any chances of a UdeM comeback. “We worked our butts off. We’re usually a second half team, and sometimes it takes us a little bit to get out of the starting gate,” Gilmour revealed. “But I think we started strong today and got that penalty that obviously helped, and we came out strong the second half, and obviously scored that quick goal.” With the win on Sunday, the Redmen are now tied with the Carabins for first in Quebec.

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The Martlets also had heavy competition when they hosted the second-ranked Carabins and they rose to the task, coming out with a 1-1 tie. McGill, ranked sixth in the most recent CIS rankings, put the pressure on early and were rewarded quickly when Alexandra Morin-Boucher scored on a quick feed from Alexandria Hoyte in the fifth minute of play. This was the first goal that Montreal keeper Martine Julien had allowed this season.

Montreal struck back with a tying goal by Isabelle Dumais at the 38th minute, after a well-executed give-and-go between Marylise Monchalin and Éva Thouvenot-Hébert. Both teams had golden chances to score again. A shot by the Carabins was miraculously saved on a diving effort by Martlet Kelsey Wilson. McGill had a great chance to take the lead when Wilson was tripped by UdeM’s Emmanuelle Beliveau-Labrecque and rewarded a penalty shot. Keeper Martine Julien worked her magic again and came up with a huge save to preserve the 1-1 tie.

Although the Martlets played a sound defensive and offensive game, Head Coach Marc Mounicot couldn’t hide his disappointment. “Our entire team played well defensively, so did the forwards, who did their job. I’m very happy. You have to understand our three best defenders are not playing tonight, they are all injured (including starting goaltender Victoria Muccilli),” Mounicot said. “It was a very good performance tonight; I’m just a little bit disappointed because I thought we deserved to win.”

All in all, the weekend was a very successful one for the two McGill soccer squads, who were pitted against formidable opponents. Both teams play their next game on Friday, Sept. 30 against UQTR in Trois-Rivières.