Varsity Reds bested by Montreal Impact U23 in pre-season action

UNB's men's soccer team were bested by Montreal Impact U23 today (Saturday) in their first exhibition game of the pre-season, losing by a score of 0 to 2.

Head coach Miles Pinsent said it was an ambitious start for the V-Reds to face off against a team of budding professionals. And although he's never happy to lose, he's still pleased with the overall result.

"You know, two days of training, I didn't expect us to be perfect and we weren't," he said. 

The V-Reds faced some late replacements, with five or six starters not seeing any playing time today due to injuries.

Montreal definitely saw more of the ball throughout the game and was able to turn that into pressure on goal, with seven shots to UNB's two.

The first goal came eighteen minutes into the first half when Montreal's Fred Lajoie-Gravel found the net. 

Lajoie-Gravel was strong for the duration, but it was Janouk Charbonneau who scored the second goal for Montreal early in the second half.

Pinsent says he's keen to use today's action as preparation for the regular AUS season.

"With pre-season games, I think as long as you can take things away from the game that are going to help you in the season, that's obviously the biggest factor. And that was definitely the case today."

The Varsity Reds play their next home game on Saturday, September 13, when they will host Cape Breton University at 3:15pm.