Antigonish, NS - The StFX X-Women earned three valuable points against the visiting Mount Allison Mounties with a 3-1 win on a chilly afternoon in Antigonish. The defending AUS champion X-Women were made to work for all three against the young and improving Mounties.
The Mounties started the match well and dominated possession, much of it in StFX's final third. They tested X keeper Emma Kuzmyk (Cookstown, ON) early and she had to handle a couple of tough corner kicks.
Mountie pressure took hold on StFX with a penalty being awarded in the 17th minute with StFX committing a foul inside their own box. Pascale Haidar (Halifax, NS) stepped up to the spot and fired a low hard shot that cruelly hit the post and came back into play. StFX were able to clear their lines, but the Mounties could not be denied the deserved first goal of the match in the 24th minute. Emily Poole (Halifax, NS) hit a perfectly struck ball into the far high side of the net.
StFX, with only brief spells of possession previously, launched numerous attacks down both Mountie flanks. StFX captain, Olivia Czipf (Thunder Bay, ON), who for her superb play throughout the match was awarded the Subway Player of the Game, led her team in the pursuit of an equalizer. After a darting run in which she controlled the ball perfectly, she found winger Meghan Frost (Ottawa, ON) down the right hand flank, who then crossed the ball into the six-yard box and left side winger, Emily Fleming (Fairbault, MB) headed the ball into the net.
Even 1-1 at half-time, it was StFX that took the initiative early in the second half. Off a Kelsey Ellis (Ottawa, ON) corner kick, the Mounties failed to clear and Larissa White (Westphal, NS) passed to Chloe Brennan (Brookside, NS) who assuredly put StFX in front with their second goal of the game.
Mount A continued their skilled and spirited play with Taryn MacMillan (Moncton, NB) hitting the post on 70 minutes. Rookie Morgan Lundin (Navaan, ON) hit a number of quality strikes into dangerous areas and X had to remain focused in order not to concede an equalizer.
The X-Women added one more goal before time and it was, once again, Czipf at the heart of matters. She marched the ball up the field and found Frost on the wing, whose pass landed on the boot of Brennan, who ripped a shot into the far corner, giving Claire West (Bedford, NS) no chance for a save as Brennan netted her second goal of the day.
StFX (5-2-3) move on to play their final home game of the season Sunday afternoon against Dalhousie. Game time is 1:00 pm at StFX Oland Stadium.
Mount Allison (1-9-0) will travel to Sydney to play the Capers, also at 1:00 pm on Sunday.
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Courtesy Bart Sears, StFX Athletics Communications