X-Men soccer fare well in pre-season action

The X-Men soccer team competed recently in the United States in three pre-season exhibition games, winning two and tying another in non-conference action.

In their first game against Merrimack College in North Andover, MA, the X-Men played to a 1-1 tie. Second year X-Men forward Jordan Roberts (Whitby, ON) opened the scoring in the game as StFX held the 1-0 lead at half-time. Merrimack scored the equalizer in the second half and the tie held.

X-Men goaltenders Sam Hutchison (Victoria, BC) and Steven Rodenhizer (Bridgewater, NS) split the game in nets.

The blue and white followed up with a 3-0 shutout victory over St. Anslem College in New Hampshire. Rodenhizer and freshman keeper Matt Lannan (Port Williams, NS) earned the win in nets for the X-Men.

Third year winger Randy Ribeiro (Cambridge, ON) and second year defender Trevor Kwan (Calgary) opened up the scoring in the game with first half goals, then freshman forward James Fitzpatrick (Saanich, BC) scored another in the second half in a slow paced match.

In their final exhibition match, the X-Men came out on top 2-0 over NCAA Division I Brown University in Providence, RI. Goals were scored by first year midfielder Michael Tait (Oakville, ON) in the 31st minute and Fitzpatrick in the 75th minute. Rodenhizer earned the shutout victory in nets, playing the entire 90 minutes.

The X-Men will begin AUS regular season competition on September 7th and 8th when they travel to Moncton and UNB. Both games are 3:15 start times. Their home opener is slated for Saturday, September 14th at 4:15 pm against Acadia.