Curt Schilling's bloody sock in the 2004 World Series was seen as a rallying cry of sorts for the Boston Red Sox.
A bloody sock on Saturday (Oct. 5) didn't exactly have the same impact on the Quest University Kermodes women's soccer team.
Trailing 1-0 to the Langara Falcons in the first half of play, the referee discovered blood on the sock of Quest's Becky Schile as she prepared to take a free kick. Schile was sent off to replace the sock but came back after the coaching staff tried to vigroiously clean her bloody sock. The official sent her back again but there was a lack of clean socks on the bench and Quest's Mari Tarleton had to take the kick in Schile's place.
Pacwest rules state that any blood stained clothing must be replaced immediately.
It was one of a handful of frustrations on Saturday for the Kermodes, who were ranked sixth in the country heading into the game. The Falcons outhustled the Kermodes for most of the game and cruised to a 2-0 win.
Langara is now tied with the Kermodes for second place in the Pacwest with 18 points after their win. Quest's record sits at six wins and three losses after the setback.
Meanwhile, it was one of the men's best performances of the season but the Kermodes still fell up short, losing to Langara 2-1.
Quest came out of the gate with guns a blazing and Laith Matlak scored early to spark an early game fire that saw the Kermodes buzzing the Falcons net for the first 20 minutes of the match.
Langara evened the game up later in the first half when a Falcons striker took advantage of goalkeeper Evan Cross's miscue. The Falcons added a goal in the second half and Matlak rang a shot off the crossbar but the Kermodes couldn't even the game.
Men's team head coach Jonas Worth said he was pleased with his team's effort despite the loss.
That result was not fair, he said after the game. I'm so proud of them right now. What can you do about a couple of goalkeeper mistakes? I'm proud of how the team played and how they made Langara predictable but it's time for us to get some of the breaks out there.
Worth praised the play of Matlak, Cross and centre-back Taylor Cooper, who had a strong game in the backfield. He added that a team psychology session earlier in the week seemed to have a positive impact on the team.
The session was about mental toughness and it really re-defined what they need to do to stay mentally tough, he said. They were ready for anything out there and never backed down.
The men's team has still failed to win a game since Oct. 23, 2011 and will look to change that as they get another shot at Langara on Sunday (Oct 6). Both the men's and women's teams hit the field in Vancouver at 11 a.m.
For more information on the teams, visit www.questkermodes.ca.
