The Memorial Sea-Hawks women's soccer team enjoyed a sensational regular season that saw them finish atop the AUS standings winning 10 of their 12 games and earn a first-round bye in the playoffs. The 2021 Subway AUS Women's Soccer Championship will be running from November 4th-7th hosted by the Cape Breton Capers, the Sea-Hawks start their quest for the championship on Friday, November 5th at 11:30 AM ADT versus the winner of the quarter final between Mount Allison and St. FX. The Sea-Hawks and Capers were able to earn first-round byes due to their top-2 standing at the conclusion of the regular season.
As the Sea-Hawks prepare for their semi-final game on Friday, captain Lauren Taylor isn't worried about the potential difficulty not knowing your next opponent holds "who we play isn't as important to our preparation as how we prepare ourselves". Taylor believes this team is ready for whatever test comes their way on Friday "I think we've done everything we can to be prepared for whoever we face", this team seems to be locked in on a huge upcoming weekend.
There were plenty of outstanding contributions by Sea-Hawks players throughout the season that pushed the team to the top spot in the AUS, on both the offensive and defensive end. Sea-Hawks forward Holly O'Neill was recognized for her tremendous season winning the league MVP award, O'Neill's 12 goals were 4 more than the next closest player in the AUS, her 13 points also led the league. After O'Neill, the Sea-Hawks were led by committee on the offensive end, Claire Langille and Zoe Rowe both found the back of the net 4 times, while Kate Hickey led the team in assists with 4, closely followed by midfielder's Katie Joyce and Lauren Taylor 3. Goalkeeper Sydney Walsh was stellar all season, finishing with 8 wins in 10 games, while posting a 0.878 save percentage (2nd in AUS), and a 0.60 goals-against average (3rd in AUS) with 5 shutouts.
Multiple Sea-Hawks were recognized on the first and second AUS All-Star teams. Forward Holly O'Neill, midfielder Lauren Taylor, and centerback Briana Pender were all selected to the first-team, while forward Claire Langille and goalkeeper Sydney Walsh were selected to the second-team. Sea-Hawks head coach Mike Power was awarded the coach of the year for his tremendous efforts this season, leading the team to a 10-2-0 record. An all-around great season so far for the Sea-Hawks before they head into the playoffs.