Antigonish, NS - On a beautiful Sunday afternoon the StFX X-Women defeated the Mount Allison Mounties by a score of 5-0 on Homecoming weekend.
The StFX X-Women enjoyed the lion's share of possession in the first half. Shyanne Hedges (Calgary, AB) was dominant in midfield as she put in well-placed passes up to her forwards. Amanda Smith (Ottawa, ON) had a number of great chances early in the match and it was just reward when she opened the scoring in the 26th minute. Catherine Kennedy (Antigonish, NS) curled in a perfect corner kick which Smith calmly headed into the net.
The Mounties were under the cosh for most of the first half, but Maddison Hill (Fredericton, NB) and Nicole Doncaster (Charlottetown, PEI) performing admirably as a centre-back partnership.
The X-Women were able to create numerous chances throughout the half by spreading the ball wide and then making good crosses into the box. Larissa White (Westphal, NS) found wingback Kennedy who put in dangerous balls for Smith to get on the end of. Sophie Austin (Kanata,ON) had to be sharp for the visitors in goal.
The second-half saw the shackles come off the X-Women as they scored four goals to the delight of the homecoming crowd. For the second goal, Myles played a nicely weighted through ball for Kennedy to chase. Kennedy soon found herself tiptoeing along the end line as she dribbled the ball toward the six-yard box. She looked up and made a soft pass to Smith who coolly deposited the ball, this time with her foot.
The third StFX goal was a well-deserved goal by Mercy Myles. Larissa White lofted a ball from about 40 yards out into the box. The ball bounced, and with the Mountie defender fully occupied by Smith, Myles took the ball and fired a good shot on the short side past Austin.
Melanie Belong (Moncton, NB) took advantage of a rebound to score StFX's fourth goal. Myles put a shot on target and Austin made a good initial save. Belong found herself unmarked and deposited the rebound into the net.
Hannah Engdahl-Hawach (Cochrane, AB) scored the first goal of her AUS career to round out the afternoon's scoring. Off an X-Women throw-in, Smith received the ball and made her way into the Mount Allison box. She found space for herself and saw Engdahl-Hawach at the edge of the six-yard box. Smith passed and Engdahl-Hawach first-touched the ball into the net for a first goal of which any player would be proud.
For her two-goal, two-assist effort, X-Women forward Amanda Smith was named the Subway player of the game. Maddison Hill received player of the game honours for Mount Allison.
The Mounties will return to AUS action on Friday, October 18th when they host UNB at 5:00pm. StFX's next game comes on the road this Thursday, October 10th when they next travel to Moncton to face the Aigles-Bleues at 5:00 pm.
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Courtesy Bart Sears, StFX Sports Information