SYDNEY, N.S. – The U SPORTS third-ranked Cape Breton University Capers (4-1-3) and the visiting Acadia Axemen (1-8-1) played to a 1-1 tie in Atlantic University Sport (AUS) soccer action on Sunday afternoon at the Cape Breton Health Recreation Complex.
In the first half, the home side garnered the first quality scoring opportunity, but a Kairo Coore (Whitby, ON) strike sailed high and wide off a feed from Daniel Williams (Pierrefonds, QC).
A few minutes later, in the seventh minute, Coore ripped a hard shot on goal, but Axemen goalkeeper Andrew Nutt (Whitby, ON) dove to his right to make a stellar save to keep it scoreless.
Veteran forward Zane Brennan (Fredericton, N.B.) collected the first scoring chance for Acadia, but Daniel Clarke (Milton Keyes, UK) made the save off his header.
Nutt answered with stops on Charlie Waters (Blackpool, UK) and Subway player of the game Raine Lyn (Oakville, ON).
Although the Capers dominated possession in the opening-45, the Axemen notched the lone goal.
In the final minute, Brennan was hauled down in the box, which led to a penalty kick for Acadia.
Joe Iatrou (Timberlea, N.S.) made no mistake on the chance to give the visitors a 1-0 advantage.
Early in the second half, with the Capers pressing for the tying marker, off the rebound of a Williams header, Lyn's dangerous shot was turned away by Nutt.
In the 59th minute, a Cian Lynch (Dublin, Ireland) pass found the foot of Coore, but his volley sailed over the crossbar.
CBU knotted the contest in the 63rd minute on a spectacular tic-tac-toe play, started by Waters – who kept the ball in along the sideline before finding Lynch with a lead pass. From there, the Caper forward crossed to Coore, who put his conference-leading ninth goal of the regular season behind Nutt.
"Playing with him has been great," Coore said, when asked about the setup from Lynch.
He added, "We need more of that, and I expect it is going to start happening."
In the 68th minute, Waters sailed a heavy shot over the crossbar in an effort to provide the Capers with their first lead of the match.
CBU pressed for the remaining minutes of the match, but they mustered few dangerous opportunities against Nutt.
"I think we had a good performance," Brennan said of the Axemen's effort in collecting the hard-fought point on the road.
Although they are out of the playoff picture, he noted that these types of performances are key for a young Acadia roster.
"It shows them that we can compete with the better teams in the AUS," Brennan added.
Coore described the loss as "disappointing," noting the Capers were focused on coming out firing after a two-week layoff.
"We fell short, but we will be ready for next weekend," he said.
The Capers will return to action Saturday, Oct. 23, when they host the Mount Allison Mounties in a 3:15 p.m. kickoff, while the Axemen will welcome the Memorial Sea-Hawks on Sunday, Oct. 24 at 2:15 p.m.
By Corey LeBlanc