X-Women defeat Huskies in final home game

Antigonish, N.S. - The StFX X-Women (7-1-4) ended their regular season home schedule with a 3-1 victory over the Saint Mary's Huskies (0-12) in AUS soccer action Wednesday evening at StFX Stadium.

"I think it was good for the last game, at home, for our seniors; we all got a start," fifth-year senior Alix Bruch (Calgary, AB) said. "I think we played as a team; it maybe wasn't the best game we played all season, but, I think, as a group, we came together and it was really positive."

In the fifth minute, the X-Women took a 1-0 edge on a goal from freshman midfielder Mercy Myles (Accra, Ghana) on a strike from 30 yards out.

Senior forward Logan Lee-Knight (Calgary, AB), in the 27th minute, doubled the lead, on a set-up from Kevyn Timmons (Calgary, AB) and she crossed the ball over low and Lee-Knight beat Huskies goalkeeper Samantha Sarty (New Germany, NS) on the short-side.

In the 73rd minute, sophomore forward Kelsey Ellis (Ottawa, ON) gave the X-Women a 3-0 advantage. She took a long pass up field and had a quick shot on net which was turned aside by Sarty, then sophomore midfielder Alex Gosse (Bedford, NS) came up with the ball and passed it back over to Ellis who made no mistake in finding the back of the net.

The Huskies spoiled the shutout bid for X-Women senior goalkeeper Nicole MacDonald (Kanata, ON), in the 83rd minute, on a tally from sophomore forward Madelyn Belliveau (Halifax, NS). The ball came off a corner kick and bounced around the front of the X net until freshman midfielder Fiorella Morales (Bedford, NS) came up with the assist in getting the ball to Belliveau for the tally.

The X-Women outshot the Huskies 24-13. MacDonald made seven saves for the win, while Sarty had five stops in the loss.  

Both teams will wrap-up the AUS regular season later this week. The Huskies will host the rival Dalhousie Tigers Friday, Oct. 28, at 5 p.m. On Saturday, Oct. 29, the X-Women will travel to Sydney to face the rival Cape Breton University Capers. Kick-off is set for 1 p.m.

As for the upcoming conference playoffs, Bruch said the X-Women "need to keep doing what we have been doing. We have been playing really well; practices have been really intense."

"We are, definitely, working a bit more on our defending. We need to make sure that we get the first goal in our games because we have been coming from behind a lot. But, I think we have been really positive and we are just going to go into our last game really hard and prepare for playoffs."

The game marked the final regular season home game for graduating X-Women seniors Alix Bruch, Olivia Wilkie, Katie Walsh, Brittany Parks, Nicole MacDonald, Kevyn Timmons, Logan Lee-Knight, Claire Gibbons, and strength and conditioning liaison Courtney Auer-Weatherell. 

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