X-Men soccer earn weekend split
The CIS No. 7 ranked X-Men played two games this weekend and came away with a 1-1 record. They faced a tough No. 4 Cape Breton Capers squad Friday night in Antigonish and dropped a 1-0 decision, then rebounded Saturday afternoon to earn a 2-0 shutout victory over the UNB Varsity Reds.
X-Men head coach Graham Kennedy commented, “We were happy to make it through two games in 21 hours, and especially happy to beat a fresh UNB team. We knew we had to grind out a win and from the 60-minute mark onward today, we were absolute grinders and held on our 2-0 lead.”
“The league has a lot of parity at the top end this season and consistency seems to be in short supply for many teams. I think we have finally gotten to some consistent play with a very good 1-0 loss to CBU and an excellent 2-0 win against UNB on Saturday.”
In Friday evening’s match up of the CIS ranked teams, Ian Greedy’s goal in the 9th minute held up in the Capers 1-0 win. Cape Breton was attacking I close in the StFX zone and as the ball bounced around it found its way to the foot of Greedy who made no mistake in tight against StFX keeper Andrew MacDonald who had no chance on the ball.
The X-Men had their best chance in the first half in the 35th minute as Capers goaltender Andrew Murphy came up with a save off a StFX free kick.
The second half brought on more tight, back and forth play and as time went on the X-Men found themselves pressuring for the equalizer late in the game. They had several key scoring chances in extra time including a late corner kick to end the game, but the pressure did not amount to a goal and the Capers held on for the win.
Ian Greedy earned the nod as the Subway Player of the Game for the Capers, while X-Men defender Jamie Tibbo took home Player of the Game honors for StFX.
Shots were 14-10 in favor of Cape Breton and Murphy earned the win in nets with 5 saves. MacDonald took the loss for StFX, recording 9 saves on goal.
MacDonald played well again on Saturday as he was in nets for the X-Men’s 2-0 shutout win over UNB. He posted 9 saves in the game as StFX outshot UNB 15-12.
StFX’s Miroslav Novak opened the scoring in the game late in the first half in the 42nd minute. Usually at the defender position, Novak was playing striker for the game along with fellow Czech countryman Michael Marousek. Marousek crossed the pass to Novak, threading the UNB defenders to set up the goal after a Paul Oppenheim steal.
The 1-0 half-time held through to the 52nd minute as Marousek tallied his team leading 9th goal of the season. The ball deflected off a couple players before Marousek got it past Varsity Reds keeper Aaron McMurray.
The 2-0 lead held through for the remainder of the half. Andrew MacDonald took home Subway Player of the Game honors. X-Men head coach Graham Kennedy was impressed with the play of his goalkeeper over the weekend, commenting, “MacDonald has been very sharp and is emerging into a veteran collegiate keeper and we need that from him.”
He goes on to say, “Josh Weinberger has moved to a central defending role and brings composure and accurate passing out of the back in addition to his enormous leadership qualities. Michael Marousek, Jamar Dixon, Mira Novak and Paul Oppenheim are playing flexible roles as required and really showing the kind of technical quality and leadership they possess. Our back four has been solid and Ryan Casey and Jamie Tibbo have become highly reliable fullbacks that complement All-Canadian center back Max Maund.”
“Our bench is giving us high quality minutes and some young players have really come in and made major contributions – Graeme Hodgkinson and Randy Ribiero will become leaders on this team next year and the following and they are competing successfully against and alongside veteran players.”
With the Saturday win, the X-Men currently hold a 6-2-3 record in AUS play and sit in second place. They have two games remaining in league play including a rematch with the Capers on Friday, Oct. 28th. They will then close out the season at home against Saint Mary’s on Sunday, Oct. 30th at 3:15 pm.
Coach Kennedy is already looking ahead to the final weekend of play, saying “We are away to CBU next Friday and I think we will be better. We then come back home on Sunday to face SMU to close the season, so our fate is still in our hands. We can still have a chance to win the league if we get a little bit of help.”