Stingers Round-up

By John Austen

ConU soccer stars receive all-star berths

Four members of the Concordia men’s and women’s soccer teams were awarded spots on the QSSF all-star teams in recognition of their outstanding play this year.

Three members of the women’s squad were named to the second QSSF all-star team led by captain Kathleen Grzybowski. This is the defender’s second appearance on the Quebec honour roll. She was voted player of the game once this season and had her best offensive year, scoring three goals and setting up another. She is in her fourth year at Concordia and will be graduating with a major in art education.

Jerusha Osborne has been a QSSF all-star in each of her three seasons with the Stingers. She has been a useful team player who has demonstrated a strong work ethic and ability to adapt to any role on the field. She received player-of-the-game honours six times during the 2003 season and scored two goals and added one assist. She is graduating in the spring with a degree in political science.

A first-year athlete, Melanie Poirier was recognized for her dominance in the Stinger midfield. She was the Stingers’ free kick expert in the offensive zone and led the Stinger attack with five goals and one assist. She was selected twice as player of the game and once as the Concordia Athlete of the Week. She is a first-year athletic therapy major.

On the men’s side, veteran Ammar Badawieh was named a first team Quebec all-star and a second team All-Canadian. A graduate student in environmental engineering, he is a perennial threat who frequently attracts double coverage from opponents. The Concordia co-captain was involved in more than 50 per cent of the team’s scoring with six goals and seven assists in the regular season. The native of Amman, Jordan, is in his fifth year with the soccer program. This mid-fielder is a five-time QSSF all-star.

Solid effort for soccer Stingers

The Concordia men’s soccer team put in a strong performance, finishing in fifth place at the CIS national championships held earlier this month at the Université de Montréal.

It was the Stingers’ first appearance at the tournament since 1992, and it was a positive showing and experience for the young team that counts 15 rookies amongst its 23 players.

On Nov. 6, the Stingers opened the championship with a tough 2-0 loss to the No. 2-ranked Alberta Golden Bears, who went on to win the gold medal. Two days later Concordia lost 2-1 to the Western Mustangs. Badawieh scored the lone Stinger goal.

The Stingers compiled at 7-4-3 win-loss-tie record during the regular season and finished in third place.

After a brief break, head coach Vladimir Pavlicik and the team will begin preparing for the upcoming QSSF indoor soccer season.

Abreu and Ozga earn top honours

Phil Ozga of the men’s hockey team and Catherine De Abreu of the women’s squad and have been named Concordia Stinger athletes of the week for the period ending Nov. 9.

Ozga, a fourth-year goaltender, backstopped the Stingers to two key victories during a Toronto road trip. He had a strong outing in Concordia’s 4-3 win over the Toronto Varsity Blues, turning away 33 of 36 shots. The following day, he recorded his first shutout in four seasons as a Stinger. He turned away 23 shots in Concordia’s 5-0 victory over the Ryerson Rams. The Ottawa native is a political science major at Concordia.

De Abreu was the top Stinger in her team’s 4-2 victory over the Carleton Ravens and 2-2 tie with the McGill Martlets. The fifth-year defensive centre was a strong presence at both ends of the ice, especially on the penalty kill unit.

Men’s hockey on a roll

After absorbing an embarrassing 9-1 loss to the Ottawa Gee-Gees two weeks ago, the men’s hockey team has reeled off four straight wins to improve their regular season record to 5-2-1. Coach Kevin Figsby’s charges won two home games last weekend over RMC 93-0) and Queen’s (9-4).

“That loss [to Ottawa] was not indicative of the strengths of the two teams,” Figsby said. “Our team and goalie had an off night.”

Hoopsters split

Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams split their opening two games last weekend. The women lost to Laval (57-51) and defeated McGill 59-51. The men also were upended by Laval (74-53) and beat McGill (96-73).