Capers remain in 1st place in AUS women’s soccer with win
Freeman scores winner in 2-0 victory over Mounties
Capers remain unbeaten in AUS women's soccer
Freeman scores winner in 2-0 victory over Mounties
By Corey LeBlanc
Sydney, N.S. – The Cape Breton University (CBU) Capers (7-0-2) snapped the Mount Allison Mounties (5-4-1) five-game winning streak with a 2-0 victory in Atlantic University Sport (AUS) women's soccer action on Saturday afternoon at the Cape Breton Health Recreation Complex.
The first-place Capers, with an air-tight defense and opportunistic and creative offense, carried the play for the bulk of the match.
"We came out hard and didn't give them much time on the ball," veteran midfielder Rebecca Lambke (Antigonish, N.S.) said after the match.
She noted the Capers were able to get plenty of "balls in the box," which led to several offensive chances.
In the opening half, Erin Freeman (Halifax, N.S.) of the Capers made it 1-0 when she deflected an Alliyah Rowe (Kitchener, ON) cross behind Mount Allison goalkeeper Sophie Austin (Kanata, ON).
A couple minutes later, Mounties forward Amanda Piltzmaker's left-footed strike – from distance – was gobbled up by Caper freshman keeper Haley Kardas (Halifax, N.S.)
In the 14th minute, the first corner kick of the match, taken by CBU's Ally Wilton (Bedford, N.S.), ended up with a header opportunity for Madison Lavers (Halifax, N.S.), but the attempt sailed high and wide.
Amelia Carlini (Ottawa, ON) couldn't finish off another Wilton corner kick, which came 10 minutes later, to extend the home team's advantage.
Less than one minute later, Rowe showed her deft touch – volleying a Wilton corner with her left foot, but Austin made the save.
On another Wilton corner late in the first half, Carlini's header eluded Austin, but a Mount Allison defender hugging the left goalpost cleared it from harm's way.
Early in the second half – in the 55th minute – on the back end of consecutive corner kicks from Janelle Tierney (Sydney River, N.S.) – Rowe, the Subway player of the match, put a header home to give the Capers a 2-0 edge.
On another CBU corner kick, Rowe connected on a header, but Austin was able to get her right hand on the shot and deflect it over the crossbar.
As part of their comeback attempt, the Mounties came up empty on a pair of corner-kick chances.
In the closing minutes, with Mount Allison pressing to get on the scoreboard, Victoria Miller (Ottawa, ON) got behind the pinching defense and raced in on Austin, who dove to her left to make the save on a hard shot.
"It was a really good win for our team against a strong opponent," Lambke said.
The Capers will return to action on Sunday, Oct. 24, when they host the Dalhousie Tigers, while the Mounties will visit the STFX X-Women in Antigonish.
The kickoff for both matchups is 1 p.m.