On Oct. 13, the McGill Martlet (3-4-3) soccer team sported pink jerseys in their “Kick for the Cure” match, as part of their fundraiser for breast cancer. It was a close, chippy game against the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) Patriotes (3-4-3), ultimately resulting in a 0-0 draw at Molson Stadium. Both sides battled hard in the shutout, with Martlet fifth-year goalie Sarah Dubois making five saves and Patriotes goalie Arianne Cloux adding four of her own.
Dubois credited the Martlet defence for playing well, although UQTR proved challenging at times.
“I think that defence is one of our strengths,” Dubois said. “But they were dangerous on occasion, so [it was] an even match.”
Despite the shutout, McGill’s offence had several near chances. Fourth-year midfielder Claudia Agozzino, who was named McGill’s MVP of the match, made one exceptional play. Agozzino juked an opposing defender, approached the goal, and tricked a diving goalie into missing the ball. Agozzino then passed to an open teammate, and a last ditch clearance by a Patriotes defender—who threw her body in front of the ball—thwarted the chance.
Throughout the match, UQTR players seemed to let their emotions get the better of them, earning three yellow cards on the night. Two of those were routine fouls in which defenders got too aggressive, but the third was called after a Patriotes forward kicked the ball away from a referee instead of giving it to him in a moment of unsportsmanlike frustration.
The Martlets rounded out their weekend with a 3-0 loss at the hands of the Laval Rouge et Or on Oct. 15. Next weekend, McGill faces off against Université de Montréal on Oct. 20 and Bishop’s on Oct. 22. Looking ahead, Dubois explained that in order to improve, McGill needs to work on its killer instinct in order to capitalize on missed opportunities.
“I think we just need that last bit of grit to get that final goal,” Dubois said.
Martlets third-year forward Tia Lore was the primary player in charge of “Kick for the Cure”. The pink kits that the Martlets wore were a prominent part of the second annual fundraising campaign and are new to the team this season. Lore believes that this year was a huge success, having raised over $1,000 for the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation.
“We really focused on promoting our game just to get everyone out there,” Lore said. “Last year we were just under our [fundraising] goal, but this year was awesome.”
Breast cancer awareness has been a prominent aim for the team since before Lore was a member. She recalls her rookie year when two alumni asked her to help organize the breast cancer game.
“My first year, two alumni asked me to help them with the breast cancer fundraising, and so far we have done two years of fundraising, and hope to continue it for the future,” Lore said.
After a brief road trip, the next Martlets home game is on Oct. 27 against the Concordia Stingers.
Moment of the match:
The contentious match came to a crescendo when a UQTR defender wrapped her arm around the neck of first-year McGill forward Ariane Ducharme, receiving a yellow card that could have easily been a red.
Quotable:
“We got better throughout the game but we couldn't play the one-touch passing we needed to win.” -Goalkeeper Sarah Dubois
Stat corner:
On the way to earning a pair of clean sheets, the two sides’ goalies combined for nine total saves.
