Soccer X-Women ranked 4th heading into AUS playoffs

The X-Women soccer team wrapped up AUS regular season play with a 2-1 win and a 1-1 tie against the Memorial Seahawks in Newfoundland this past weekend.

On Saturday afternoon, the two teams played to a 1-1 draw as goals were exchanged by Elissa Riel of the X-Women and Laura Breen of the Seahawks, both in the first half.

On Sunday the X-Women regrouped to earn a 2-1 win over the Seahawks. Breen was again the goal scorer for Memorial, while team leading scorer Olivia Zanette scored for StFX, along with Nicole MacNeil. X-Women defender Laura Thompson earned Player of the Game honors.

Anna Thompson earned both wins in the StFX net.

The X-Women close out the season with a 8-4-1 record and 25 points, good enough for fourth spot overall in the AUS conference. Cape Breton also closed with 25 points but finish ahead of the X-Women due to their 2-0 head-to-head record over X. The undefeated Dalhousie Tigers (10-0-3) took top spot with 33 points, followed by UPEI (9-3-1) in second place with 28. Moncton (5-5-3) and Memorial (4-8-1) round out the playoff berths.

The AUS championship will be taking place this weekend, Nov. 6-8 in St. John’s, NF as the Seahawks will play host to the top six teams. The AUS winner and runner-up will both advance to the CIS championship slated for Nov. 12-15 at the University of Toronto.

The number 4 ranked X-Women will play in the first quarterfinal game on Friday, Nov. 6 at 4:00 pm against #5 Moncton. In their one regular season meeting, the X-Women defeated Moncton 1-0 in a Sept. 26th game played at StFX Oland Stadium, while the two teams also played to a 1-1 draw in pre-season exhibition play.

Cape Breton (3) and Memorial (6) will meet in the other quarterfinal Friday at 6:15 pm. The two winners will advance to the semi-final games on Saturday against either Dalhousie (1) or UPEI (2) with the championship game scheduled for Sunday at 12:00 pm.

The complete 2009 Subway AUS Women's Soccer Championship schedule is as follows:

Friday, November 6th
Quarter-final #1: StFX (4th) vs. Moncton (5th), 4:00pm
Quarter-final #2: Cape Breton (3rd) vs. Memorial (6th - Host), 6:15pm

Saturday, November 7th
Semi-final #1: Dalhousie (1st) vs. Lowest Remaining Seed, 1:00pm
Semi-final #2: UPEI (2nd) vs. Highest Remaining Seed, 3:15pm

Sunday, November 8th
Championship Game: Semi-final Winners, 12:00pm