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Are you ready for some soccer?
The 2010 soccer season gets underway this weekend as the
Sea~Hawks travel to the mainland for a two game road trip, paying a
visit to the campus of St. Francis Xavier and Cape Breton
Universities. Both the men’s and women’s teams have
been busy this week with the start of classes, team tryouts and
fitness testing in preparation of the weekend’s action.
The season opener will be played in Antigonish against St. FX on
Saturday. The women will get things started at 1 pm while the men
will follow them with a scheduled time of 3:15 pm. The St. FX games
will be webcasted on SSN
Canada. The teams will then jump aboard the bus on their way to
Sydney to take on the hometown Capers on Sunday. Game times are 1
pm for the women and 3:15 pm for the men.
Women’s Soccer
Sea-Hawks Preview
The
women’s soccer team faces a challenge in the opening weekend
of the season, taking on an X-Women team that outlasted the
competition at last season’s Subway AUS Championship held in
Mount Pearl to lay a claim to the conference banner. If that was
not enough motivation for the Sea~Hawks, they will then travel to
Sydney to take on a Capers team that ended their season in the
quarterfinals last October.
The Sea~Hawks have a number of returnees that will give them
stability heading into the season. The backline will be led by the
veteran core of Laura Tilley, Ashley Dawe, and Leighanne Tobin.
Lauren Windsor also returns after a promising rookie campaign in
2009. Laura Pittman and Simone Quinlan will be the goalkeepers this
weekend, and either could start. Offensively the team will be
looking to find someone new to carry the offense with the
graduation of Laura Breen, Leslie Pope, Malorie Harris and Nichole
Adams. Heather Williams will look to improve on the three goals she
scored in her rookie season. Alex White-Dzuro returns to the lineup
after a season away from the team. White-Dzuro has a nose for the
net, having scored seven goals in her previous three years with the
varsity squad.
Samantha Hansford will play a featured role at midfield this
season. Erin Edwards and Heather Spurrell also will see action at
midfield for Memorial.
This weekend will mark the first varsity action for Maria Oliver
and Jennifer Burry.
Players to watch on St. FX
On Saturday key
players to watch on the St. FX side include Meaghan Ramsden, last
season’s AUS Rookie of the Year, and Anna Thompson who was a
second team conference all-star keeper. Rookie Marisa Miller, a
graduate of Gonzaga High School in St. John’s, will back up
Thompson.
Players to watch on Cape Breton
A pair of
Newfoundlanders who were a part of Molson FC in Jubilee Cup action
will suit up for Cape Breton. Erika Lannon returns to the Capers
and Kaelyn Burke will also see action in the midfield. Alyssa
Kavanaugh was an AUS first team all-star fullback last
season.
Men’s Soccer
Sea~Hawks Preview
The Sea~Hawks men’s
soccer team will be travelling with only six returning
players from last season as they open their season this weekend.
The team has bitten by an injury bug that sees several key players
out indefinitely. With the short length of the AUS soccer season it
will be up to the Scott Betts coached team to find a way to
overcome the injuries and compete for a playoff spot.
The good news for the Sea~Hawks is that guys that are ready to play
can hold their own at the university level. Offensively three of
four of last season’s top scorers are back, led by Steven
DeLong and Scott Woodfine. Woodfine is fresh off a rookie of the
year season with the Challenge Cup champion Holy Cross side.
Woodfines Holy Cross teammate Chris Pope will also be called upon
to be a leader on the new look Sea~Hawks. Luke Olmstead returns to
the Memorial lineup in the keeper position after having his rookie
season cut short in the opening game last season with a broken
arm.
The coaching staff will get a chance to see how the rookies respond
to the pace of university competition. Four promising players for
the St. John’s U18 team will see their first action for
Memorial this weekend. Michael Brushett, Greg Reid, Daniel Rowe,
and David Hickey will be looking to make a good first impression on
Coach Betts. Two other rookies will be quite familiar with St. FX
as both Alec Benson and Johnathan Scribner are from Antigonish,
while a third, Brock Fraser is from nearby New Glasgow. Fraser is
in his first year with Memorial but played for two seasons at Mount
Allison. Ross Mitchell will also begin his Sea~Hawk career this
weekend.
Also returning to the lineup this weekend will be third year Liam
Kelly and Andrew Stanford. Stanford will begin his rookie season
after being unable to compete due to injury the past two seasons.
He was also a member of Holy Cross.
The road trip will be a challenge for Memorial but they hope to
come home with a couple of points. St. FX are always tough at home
while Cape Breton were the class of the AUS last season, laying
claim to their second conference crown in the last three
seasons.
Players to watch on St. FX
The player the
Sea~Hawks will have to pay close attention to will be fourth year
Michael Marousek. The Czech notched ten goals last season for the
X-Men. Fellow Czech, Miroslav Novak will be a noticeable presence
on the St. FX backline, standing at six foot seven inches.
Players to watch on Cape Breton
The 2009 AUS
champion Capers bring an international flavour to the pitch, led by
conference scoring leader Keishen Bean. The speedy Bermudian scored
a conference-high 11 goals last season. The Sea~Hawks will also
want to keep a close eye on Shayne Hollis. Hollis, possibly the
fastest player in the league, stands at 5’4. However, he is
not to be underestimated as he not only posses lightning speed but
also a deft scoring touch.