X-Men soccer earns weekend home wins

The StFX X-Men (4-2-1) wrapped up a stretch of five matches in nine days with a pair of home victories over the weekend in AUS soccer action.

Sunday, at Oland Stadium in Antigonish, Subway player of the match Natneal Tecle scored in the 64th minute to give the X-Men a 1-0 win over the visiting Saint Mary's Huskies.

"I ran to the hole; it was a great ball from Max Maund [StFX defender]," Tecle, a freshman from Calgary, Alta., commented after the match during the StFX Varsity Club webcast on Bell AUS TV.

Tecle was able to get a head on the over-the-top ball from Maund at the top of the 18-yard box, which eluded charging Huskies' keeper Adam Miller.

"We defended really well and played together as a team," Tecle said of the X-Men's performance.

Sam Hutchison and Steven Rodenhizer shared the shutout for the X-Men.

Hutchison left the match in the final minute after a collision with Miller, who came from his own goal as an extra attacker for a Huskies' free-kick.

Hutchison, a third-year player from Victoria, B.C., was at the forefront for a key play in the match near the end of the first half, making a stellar save on a penalty kick by Rodrigo Faria de Carvalho.

Tecle's goal against the Huskies was his second of the weekend. He also tallied Saturday afternoon in a 4-1 X-Men win over the visiting Mount Allison Mounties.

With the outside of his right foot, he lofted a volley over the head of Mounties' keeper Jonas Hammar in the ninth minute to give the X-Men a 1-0 lead.

In the 45th minute, second-year forward Jordan Roberts gave the X-Men a 2-0 advantage, converting a pass from winger Mark Harpur.

"I wanted to prove myself. I didn't make much of an impact in the last game," Roberts, Subway player of the match, said after the win.

After Frederico Mora sliced the lead to 2-1 for the Mounties in the 63rd minute, the X-Men regained their two-goal advantage less than one minute later on a tally by freshman forward James Fitzpatrick.

In the 83rd minute, Antigonish, N.S. native Mitchell George, with his first AUS regular season goal, deposited a nifty volley behind Hammar to conclude the scoring.

Hutchison made 12 saves for the X-Men in the 4-1 victory.

The X-Men return to action Friday, Sept. 27, when they travel to Sydney to battle the defending conference champion Cape Breton University Capers (1-2-2) at 3:15 p.m.

"We have to be patient," Tecle said, when asked about keys against the Capers.He added the X-Men have to "continue working hard" and have a great week of training.

-30-