Reprinted from the McGill Tribune Tuesday, November 12, 2002
By Ed Glucksman
A solid 3-0 victory on Sunday over the University of Toronto Varsity Blues enabled the Redmen soccer team to finish third overall at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport Championships hosted by Carleton University.
Rookie Fernando Daluiso and veteran Philippe Lazure scored McGill's second half goals. McGill's third tally was the result of a late Toronto own-goal.
Brock won the national title, beating the host Ravens 1-0 in the final after a dramatic overtime finish.
Playing in his third National Championship tournament in five years, the 23-year-old Lazure scored in what was his last game in a McGill uniform.
The goal was assisted by team co-captain Mathieu Harding, who also arrived at the end of a fruitful Redmen career on Sunday.
"The ball came to my foot and I buried it," described Lazure of his goal. "It is great to finish off our tournament with the bronze medal. This season certainly has been memorable, definitely something that we are all very proud of."
Teammate Gino Lalli, a six-year veteran, echoed Lazure
"We were determined to get at least a bronze medal this weekend since McGill usually struggles in the third-place match-up."
Despite a seemingly endless university career, Lalli will return one last time next fall for a chance to win his second national title since being a member of the first-place team in 1998. The Ile-Bizard native has been a solid, reliable presence on defence for the Redmen, since recovering from chronic hamstring troubles.
"It isn't the colour we wanted, but at least we were able to bring home a bit of hardware," said Harding of his team's bronze medal. The St-Lambert native ended his Redmen career in style Sunday, earning Most Valuable Player distinction in the game.
A well-timed and much needed win
McGill arrived at Sunday's bronze medal game after having lost its tournament opener 1-0 to the University of Prince Edward Island. The next day, the Redmen defeated Carleton, the No. 1 ranked team in the nation, by a 1-0 score. Rookie Jonathan Warin scored McGill's lone goal, once more assisted by Harding.
Despite upsetting the top-ranked team, the Redmen were disappointed to come home as the third place team.
"We thought this year was going to be ours, but I guess it wasn't meant to be. Our performance this season, especially from the younger generation of players, shows that this university will remain a contender for years to come," predicted co-captain Harding.
The Redmen rookie crop has been especially potent this season, led by Alex Scott, Dalusio, Warin and Tomas Miranda.
"It really feels great to get the bronze here after losing on opening day. I think that with our squad we may have championship potential for at least another five years," said Daluiso. "It's been a great time, a great time. Hats off to all the guys."
The old and the new
The victory against Toronto marked the end of a successful season for head coach Adam Mar's Redmen. After having won the Quebec Student Sports Federation championship for the 17th time, McGill ended up with two wins and a loss at Nationals, conceding just a single goal over the weekend.
Management major Alex Scott topped off a formidable list of Redmen to win personal awards, both on the provincial and the National levels. The 19-year-old midfielder won CIS and QSSF rookie of the year awards and was one of the two Redmen elected to the QSSF first all-star team.
Second-year Montreal native Derek Tsang was named to both the QSSF and CIS tournament all-star teams. The solid defender also earned a spot on the CIS all-Canadian second team.
Lazure and midfielder Jeremy Lawson were voted to the QSSF second all-star team.
This fall's medal finish bolstered McGill's reputation as a leading Canadian soccer university. After their 33rd game last Sunday, the Redmen have played the most total CIS tournament games in history and have won gold on three occasions, in 1981, 1982 and 1998. Their overall CIS tournament record since the league's founding in 1972 is 11-18-4.
The Redmen capped off what was certainly a season of improvement compared to their QSSF semi-final knockout in the 2001 campaign. Mar's team was well-balanced and especially better at the front where McGill has struggled in recent years.
- With files from Kate Rhodes
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| Recent Games |
[11/08/02] vs. Carleton W 1-0
[11/10/02] vs. Toronto W 3-0
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| Coach - Adam Mar |
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![Adam Mar]()
MONTREAL - Adam Mar, an assistant coach with the McGill men's soccer team
for the past five years, has been appointed head coach of the Redmen. He
replaces Pat Raimondo, who resigned in March to head up the new soccer
program at the University of Montreal.
A graduate of McGill, the 30-year-old native of Pointe Claire, Que., has
achieved his National Coaching Certification Program license and has racked
up a 27-16-3 record in three years of coaching in the Ligue de Soccer Elite
du Quebec. He is currently in his second season as coach of the Lac
St-Louis Lakers AAA under-18 boys team. In 1999, he directed the Lac
St-Louis senior B men's team to the league championship and was named as the
conference coach of the year.
Mar had a distinguished five-year playing career with McGill, playing from
1991 to 1995 under the tutelage of three different coaches, including
Raimondo, Valerio Gazzola and Claudio Sandrin (the latter two are currently
coaching with the Montreal Impact).
He served as a co-captain over his last four seasons with the Redmen,
earning all-conference honours five times and CIAU All-Canadian honours
twice. He won the Bill Searles trophy as team MVP in 1995-96.
Mar was also a two-time Academic All-Canadian and earned a bachelor of
science from McGill in 1994. He is in the process of completing a master's
degree in biology and a doctorate in neurology and neurosurgery. From 1997
to 1999, he was a research assistant with the Douglas Hospital Research
Centre in Verdun, Que.
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