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Molson Weekend Summary Nov. 8
Women’s basketball sweep Axewomen; St. FX take AUS
women’s soccer championship in Mount Pearl
The weekends don’t get much bigger for Sea~Hawks Athletics
than the one that occurred this weekend. The women’s soccer
team hosted the 2009 Subway AUS women’s soccer championship.
The basketball teams opened their AUS season at the Field House
with a weekend double header series against Acadia. The men’s
volleyball team travelled to Fredericton to take on UNB. The
swimmers competed in the St. John’s Legends Fall
Classic.
2009 AUS Women’s Soccer Championship
Quarterfinal #1
St. FX 1 Ude M 0
The 2009 Subway AUS Women's Soccer Championships opened with the
St. FX X-Women outlasting the U de M Aigles Bleues in a 1 - nil
squeaker. With very wet and windy conditions both teams started out
with caution in mind, and early action did not stray too far from
the center line. Although a little more wasteful in possession than
Coach Reddick would have liked, it was always the X-Women who
looked the more likely to break the deadlock.
The breakthrough came sooner than the play would have suggested
as at the 24th minute, when X striker Amy MacKinnon found herself
on the end of a crossed ball making no mistake from close range.
Following the goal, X became more fluid and comfortable in attack,
and certainly looked the stronger of the two sides. Apart from a
few wayward goal attempts, les Aigles Bleues had difficulty
mounting a comeback. In fact, X goalkeeper Anna Thompson was called
just once into any real action, as she did just enough to paw away
a high floated free kick that got tangled up in the wind. That
would be the pinnacle of any U de M attacking ambition on this day,
and in the end the X-Women would take the quarterfinal win.
Subway Players of the game were Josee Leblanc for U de M and Sarah
Mitchell for St. FX.
Quarterfinal #2 Recap
CBU 2 Memorial 0
At the new artificial turf facility at the Team Gushue Sports
complex, the Sea~Hawks and Capers squared off in quarterfinal # 2
of the Subway AUS Women’s Soccer Championships Friday night.
The hosts looked full of life and ambition from the kick-off and
wasted little time putting the Capers under pressure. The side in
red created several quality first half scoring chances including
some scorching long range efforts, and a number of fine crosses.
The Capers themselves, however, have never been shy when it comes
to attacking. Coach Mavin would have been pleased to see rookie
Sea~Hawk keeper Keira Eavis push a dangerous driven ball onto the
bar and out.
Despite the fast paced first half action, no player was sublime enough to open the scoring before the break. Although the Sea~Hawks would certainly not lack ambition in the half time dressing room, there is a certain presence that comes with four consecutive conference titles, and it was going to take something special to knock off these Capers.
In a bizarre turn of events, darkness swept the pitch at the 50
minute mark, with an electrical problem delaying the match about 30
minutes. When the match resumed, the Sea-Hawks did not yet seem to
be fully awake, and as quick at the lights went out, the
‘Hawks were down two. A couple of uncharacteristic defensive
blunders resulted in Caper goals from Nicole Morrison in the 56th
and Tara Rogers in the 59th, completely changing the flow of the
match.
The ‘Hawks would not roll over however, and continued to
march forward. The attacking flair of seniors Laura Breen, Malorie
Harris, and Leslie Pope would create some anxious moments for Cape
Breton, but they would fail to find the final piece of the
puzzle.
The Capers moved on to face the UPEI Panthers in Saturday’s
semi final after the 2-0 triumph, while it was the end of an era
for the Lady-Hawks with Breen, Harris, and Pope all playing their
final game in red and white.
Players of the game were Nicholle Morrison for CBU and seniors
Laura Breen and Malorie Harris who finish their varsity careers in
the loss. Also finishing outstanding careers with Memorial were
Nichole Adams and Leslie Pope.
Semi-Final # 1 Recap: (1) Dalhousie vs (4) St. FX
St. FX 2 DAL 1 OT
The top seeded Dalhousie Tigers opened their quest for the AUS
Championship on Saturday afternoon, and as expected took it to
their Nova Scotia rivals from St. FX in the early stages of the
fixture. With a strong wind helping their cause, the Tigers were
tidy in possession in the first half and really showed why they are
the 5th ranked team in the nation. Kate MacDonald was the first to
get on the score sheet with a goal in the 23rd minute, and what a
goal it was. The 4th year striker had the poise to look up and curl
a delightful left footed gem to the far post, using both splendid
technique and the wind to her advantage perfectly. No one could
argue the Tigers deserved to be up at the break.
The 2nd half however, saw the tide turn quickly and you could sense
a certain swagger in the step of the X-Women. With some renewed
ambition and, of course, the helping hand of a nasty wind, St. FX
really made the mighty Tigers look quite ordinary, and even
vulnerable at times. It was no surprise when X tied the game at the
70th minute. A well taken long range free kick from AUS Rookie of
the year Meaghan Ramsden seemed to have eyes for goal, as it
bounced once, eluded a major traffic jam in the box without a
touch, and snuck in at far post. And with that, we were heading to
overtime.
All things considered, the match was certainly of high quality,
especially considering the harsh conditions, and overtime was no
different. Glory for the X-Women came in the 9th minute of the
first overtime when Nicole McNeil unleashed a screamer from every
bit of 35 yards that bulged the back of the old onion bag. The now
frantic Tigers could find no response and suffered their first
defeat of the season, albeit at the most costly time. The X-Women,
full of glee, will now move onto Sunday’s final in search of
their first conference title since 1986.
Semi-Final # 2 Recap: (2) UPEI vs (3) CBU
UPEI 1 CBU 0
Semi-final # 2 took place in your typical North Atlantic winter
storm. Slashing winds and waves of snow engulfed the pitch, but
Cape Breton and UPEI did not seem to overly mind, and went to
battle from the get go. A tremendously well organized defense from
the Panthers kept the Capers at bay for the first half. They did a
remarkable job of making an enormous 120 by 80 yard pitch feel as
small as a shoebox for the Capers. At times the Panthers strikers
were playing so deep they could have been mistaken for holding
midfielders, but nevertheless their defend-at-all-costs mentality
successfully frustrated the four-time defending champions, and the
Panthers managed to get to the half time whistle without
conceding.
With Mother Nature always going to be the most dominant presence in
the game, the Panthers gladly accepted her backing in the second
half and started to do some attacking of their own. Jenn MacLeod
broke the deadlock in the 65th minute as she got onto the end of a
clever ball and produced a cute little finish, tucking the ball
under the Capers keeper. The shocked CBU side went broke in search
of an equalizer and the Panthers became just the second team in
seven seasons to defeat the Capers in an AUS playoff game.
The win must go down as a classic PEI style triumph, a truly
brilliant defensive masterpiece that the Italians would be proud
of. The Panthers now advance to Sunday’s championship final
where they will face the beaming St. FX X-Women with the conference
title on the line.
Championship Game
St. FX 2 UPEI 1 (OT 4-2 penalty kicks)
It was a day without precipitation, but cold temperatures faced
both teams with the start of today’s AUS Subway Women’s
Soccer Championship. St. FX seemed to have the energy edge out of
the gate despite having come off of a long overtime win on
Saturday. With both teams advancing to nationals, it was time to
settle in and battle for the banner. At the ten minute mark, PEI
attacked and Chelsie McInnis took a crossed ball , finding the back
of net to put the Panthers up early. The rest of the first half saw
most of the play around midfield, but not much action around either
net.
With the start of the second half, StFX continued to provide
pressure and controlled most of the play. UPEI keeper Chanelle Roy
faced a couple of direct shots on net, but easily handled the ball,
keeping the lead for the Panthers. X continued to control the ball
in the midfield and it seemed only a matter of time before they
would find a solid scoring chance. At the 77th minute, Eugenia
Renderos delivered a cross to the middle of the box and Sarah
Mitchell stretched to get a foot on the ball, driving it past the
UPEI keeper.
With renewed energy, St FX continued to battle through the end of
the 90th minute. A 1-1 tie would take it to overtime. The overtime
periods saw little action on the keepers, outside of a strike on
net by St FX that would find the top of the crossbar, bounce down,
but was booted away by the UPEI defense. It seemed that this
attempt would haunt the X-women if the final outcome was not the
one they hoped for.
The second OT period ended in 1-1 draw, so penalty kicks would
decide the AUS championship. ST FX would strike first with Nicole
Melong driving a shot past UPEI’s Roy. UPEI were unable to
find the equalizer on their second strike. X’s Eugenia
Renderos also found the back of the net putting UPEI up 2-0. Tessa
Roche, AUS MVP would not go down without a fight and scored on
UPEI’s second attempt. Ana Balbino and Shannon Boisvert also
added goals for X giving ST FX a 4-2 margin in penalty kicks. The
game was decided and St FX claimed their first AUS women’s
soccer championship in 23 years! Sarah Mitchell was named the 2009
Keith’s championship MVP and was outstanding for her team all
weekend.
St FX took the long road to the championship, with a quarterfinal
win over Moncton and then a semi-final OT upset of Dalhousie the
top seed. The team capped off the weekend with yet another OT win
and now head off to the CIS championship in Toronto.
Basketball
Women’s Basketball
Memorial 87 Acadia 86
The Memorial University women’s basketball team opened their
season in fine style on Saturday night at the Field House with a
win over the visiting Acadia Axewomen. In front of a good sized
home crowd the Sea~Hawks and Axewomen played evenly in the early
going with the road team opening up a five point lead at the end of
the first quarter. In the second quarter Memorial gained some
separation, winning the quarter by twelve, to take a seven point
half time lead. Vicki Thistle and Grace Fishbein were the shot
makers for Memorial in the early going.
Acadia is an improved team this season and showed their composure
in the third quarter cutting the Memorial lead to only three. In
the fourth quarter the Sea~Hawks managed to hang on to the victory
despite shooting poorly from the free throw line. Grace Fishbein
led the way with 21 points while Vicki Thistle added 17 points and
9 rebounds. As a team the Sea~Hawks were only 62% from the free
throw line. Final score was 87-86.
Senior point guard Erin Mullaley, returning for her final season,
was the HITS FM Player of the Game for the winners. Player of the
Game for Acadia was Alise Brown, who had a team-high 24 points.
Memorial 72 Acadia 67
On Sunday the teams were
back on the court for the second game of the weekend series, with
the Sea~Hawks looking to open the season with a home sweep. In
another close game the Sea~Hawks gained enough separation late to
hold off an Acadia charge. The final score was Memorial 72 Acadia
67.
Leading scorer for Memorial was Brittany Dalton with 18 points and
9 rebounds. Teammate Vicki Thistle added a double-double with a
blue collar 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Dalton was named the HITS FM Player of the Game for Memorial while
Emma Duinker was the Player of the Game for Acadia. Duinker had a
team-high 16 points in the loss.
The Sea~Hawks open the season 2-0. They will have their first road
trip of the season next weekend as they travel to Dalhousie for a
doubleheader series on November 14 and 15.
Men’s Basketball
Peter Benoite and his improved team looked to open the season with
a home victory during a weekend series against the always tough
Acadia Axemen.
Acadia 93 Memorial 80
In the early going it looked like the Sea~Hawks would set the pace,
with sophomore center Steven Earles breaking free for a big
two-handed slam dunk to give the Sea~Hawks an early lead. Rookie
guard Mike Helsby also looked impressive in his home debut, putting
the Sea~Hawks out in front 21-17 after one.
The second quarter was all Axemen as they used a three quarter
court trap to create transition opportunities that gave them a
49-42 halftime lead. Former Sea~Hawk Andre Grant was particularly
effective in the fast break. In the second half the ‘Hawks
showed poise in making a third quarter run but in the final frame
the offense sputtered, with the final 93-80 Acadia.
Earles was aggressive all night, earning 16 trips to the free throw
in the game. He made good on 14 of those opportunities and finished
with a career high 26 points. Helsby added 24 points on his way to
HITS FM Player of the Game honours.
Casey Fox led Acadia with 25 points while player of the game Grant
added 22.
Acadia 65 Memorial 64
On Sunday it was all Sea~Hawks in the first half of action, with
the Sea~Hawks jumping out to a large 19 point lead against the
visiting Axemen. Steven Earles, fresh off a career high in the
opener once again showed his aggressiveness, finding his way to the
free throw line. Earles had 14 in the first half alone. Meanwhile,
the Sea~Hawks defence forced Acadia to shoot only 26.9% from the
field in the first half. Making matters worse for the Axemen was a
dismal 36.4% free throw percentage.
In the second half Acadia turned up the pressure and used forced
turnovers to cut into the big Memorial lead. By the end of the
third quarter Acadia cut the lead down to ten. In the fourth Acadia
continued to force Memorial into turnovers. The Sea~Hawks could not
come up with the big shot down the stretch that they needed to keep
the Axemen at bay. With only 17 seconds left the first of two made
free throws by Casey Fox tied the game for the first time since the
score was 2-2. The second free throw gave Acadia their first lead
since the opening seconds.
With time winding down Memorial inbounded the ball. The Sea~Hawks
passed the ball around the top of the key finding Jason Shepherd
cutting to the hoop. Shepherd got a step on the defender and was
tripped, earning two shots at the free throw line. In what is a
scenario played out on blacktops all across the continent it
appeared that Shepherd had one to tie, two to win. Showing his
poise Shepherd calmly knocked down both to give the Sea~Hawks a one
point advantage with only four ticks on the clock.
Acadia was down to a hope and a prayer when Casey Fox accepted the
in-bounds pass at mid-court. Fox drove up the court in a hurry,
taking an off balance jumper that found the bottom of the with only
a tick of the clock left. With no timeouts left all Memorial could
do was heave the ball in as time expired. Final score was Acadia 65
Memorial 64.
Earles, the HITS FM Player of the Game led the way with 17 points
and 7 rebounds for Memorial. Helsby and Shepherd had 12 apiece.
Ante Samodol was a bright spot for Memorial, pulling down a
team-high 10 rebounds.
Fox was the hero for the winners, with a game high 21 points.
Teammate Alexander Traikov added 20 points.
The Sea~Hawks let a win slip away at home court, and will need to
find a way to finish out close games. The team showed glimpses of
their potential and home fans can expect the ‘Hawks to
improve at the season progresses.
Next up for the Sea~Hawks is the Dalhousie Tigers in Halifax next
Saturday and Sunday.
Men’s Volleyball
The men’s volleyball saw their weekend plans change on Friday as a flight cancellation left them unable to make it to Fredericton in time for Saturday’s contest. With a UNB home basketball game already booked the Sea~Hawks would be forced into two games on Sunday against the home Varsity Reds.
In the morning match it would be all Varsity Reds as they would win
in straight sets 3-0. Set scores were 25-19, 25-14, 25-14. Alex
Barrett had 7 kills to lead Memorial. Brad Pitcher had a team-high
7 digs. UNB’s Jacob Kilpatrick and Tyler Veenhuis both had a
game high 9 kills in the victory.
In the evening match the Sea~Hawks came out strong but could not
get over the hump, dropping the first set 25-22. From there it was
all UNB with the Varsity Reds winning in straight sets once again,
taking the second convincingly 25-12 and the third 25-15.
The Sea~Hawks return home 0-4. On the roadtrip the added travel
difficulties and the shorthanded team combined to put an already
underdog team at a larger disadvantage.
Swimming
This weekend the Sea~Hawks competed in the St. John’s Legends
Fall Classic.
David Forbes had three 1st place finishes. Forbes swam a season
best 24.18 in the 50m Freestyle, only .29 off of the CIS
Championship time standard. He was only .7 of a second off the CIS
Championship standard with his time of 26.69 in the 50m Butterfly.
Forbes also won the 50m Backstroke with a time of 28.43.5th year
Tim Rusted won the 1500m Freestyle with a time of 17:22.51, it is
the first time that Rusted has swam his best event this season as
he aims to qualify for CIS Championships in the 1500m Freestyle for
the fourth year in a row. Tim Bennett won the 200m Backstroke with
a time of 2:20.7 while rookie Mason Jeddore won the 200m Butterfly
with a time of 2:30.31.
2nd year Kelsie Rogers won three events. Her winning time of 27.62
was only .46 off of the CIS Championship standard in the 50m
Freestyle. She also won the 50m Backstroke with a time of 33.15 and
the 50m Butterfly with a time of 31.69. 2nd year Dayna Hogan won
the girls 1500m Freestyle with a time of 19:11.98.
The meet was a tune-up for the Sea-Hawks swimmers before they hit
the road for the next two weekends. Saturday, November 14th the
Sea-Hawks will be dualing at the University of Lethbridge. The
Sea-Hawks will travel to Dalhousie November 20-22 to compete in the
AUS Invitational.