Player Ratings: Dalhousie Tigers (W) 0 - 0 Saint Mary's Huskies (W)

Here's a new thing for us: player ratings after the games. While these are obviously a work of opinion, we'll be as fair as we can. Feel free to offer differing opinions in the comment section. Until we get rosters, we can really only do Dalhousie ratings. This time, we've assigned a team rating to Saint Mary's.

Since this is university sport, after all, we decided to use a letter-grade system for ratings.


Dalhousie:

• GK-Rebecca Holm-B+: Holm didn't allow a goal, which is always a good thing for a keeper and seemed confident claiming balls into the box. Strong game for her, although not tested ovelry much.
• GK-Heather Armstrong-B: Also no goals conceded, but didn't command the box quite as well as Holm and looked a little uncertain on some long balls in.
• Jeanette Huck-B: At times, easily the best player on the pitch. She'll need to produce a goal to put herself any higher than B, though.
• Katie Richard-B: Excellent creative game, as usual. Lacked finish at times, but not a bad game.
• Emma Landry-B+: Considering she's a rookie in her first game at this level, she looked confident and poised. Wouldn't surprise me if she nabbed a goal on Sunday.
• Colleen MacDonald-B: Broke up most everything Saint Mary's threw forward and looked strong.
• Reika Santilli-C-: Although she was injured for the second half, Santilli was having a bad outing. Lost possession frequently and didn't seem to move around enough to allow the midfield to transition well.
• Sarah Lye-C+: Kind of invisible for much of the game. I've seen her influence the game, but she didn't tonight.
• Kate MacDonald-B+: Not her best game ever, but she is always a lethal mix of creative and dangerous. A goal would have helped.
• Amanda Henry-B: Faded a bit, but that's permissible in a defender--a defender you don't notice isn't making mistakes. Certainly brings strength to the backline.
• Joanna Boldgett-C: Probably gets a higher grade from Hutchison, who praised her after the game. She sent some crosses in, but really failed to influence the game very much. Lots of potential, though.
• Lesley D'Apollonia-C: The difficulty in coming up with a grade is due to the fact I never really noticed her. Could have created up the wing while at left back, but failed to.
• #7 (roster not yet available)-B: Not a band game. Attacked a bit up the left, defended well, which is what needs to happen from a fullback.
• #8 (roster not yet available)-B+: Did everything but score. That's got to change, but a player who seems to know how to score will not find that task hard.
• Coach-Jack Hutchison-B: When I understand his tactics, I'm sure everything will make sense. He keeps winning, so why question that? There must be some secret. Tactics aside, he improved the team at half-time and they came out looking motivated and played much better for it. Line-up selection was fine for preseason. If Dal had come out motivated before the game, the grade would have been higher.
• Referee-B: Called a good game, but for halting play for an injury on a great Dal chance. It's a friendly, so that alleviates some blame, but for once, I'd like to see the head injury rule called properly.

SMU grade: B-: They brought intensity and looked hungry, but they'll need a lot more potency. Once Dal woke up they were overwhelmed quite easily and really should have conceded but for some poor finishing from Dal. If that had been a regular season game, they would have lost it.

Dalhousie Tigers (W) 0 - 0 Saint Mary's Huskies (W)

The first formal match of the 2009 soccer season was played Friday night at Dalhousie's Wickwire Field. It may only have been preseason soccer, but given the teams--the Tigers against cross-town rivals Saint Mary's--fans could expect some intensity.

Sadly, anyone expecting intensity left disappointed with the 0-0 final. They weren't the only ones. Tigers coach Jack Hutchison was vocal in his displeasure post-game.

[We're] "not overly satisfied with the result," he said. "We didn't play with enough sense of urgency. It's like we played a friendly against our long-lost brother."

Even though the game meant nothing in what is anticipated to be a very competitive AUS season, fans turned out to see the turgid display.

The first half had so few talking points that fans could be forgiven for letting their minds drift.

Hutchison's mind, however, was firmly set on his team, upset that at their transition through the midfield.

[We have to] "not try to pass out of the back when it was time to clear and not try to clear when it was time to pass," he said.

It was an experimental starting line-up for Hutchison's team, which features 5 rookies, many of whom saw time. Back-up keeper Rebecca Holm started, along with Emma Landry of Ottawa. The absence of last year's captain Stephanie Collins meant Amanda Henry started and dropped to centre-back.

One of last year's much-discussed rookies Reika Santilli seemed to sum up the game when she tripped over the ball and landed flat on her face, gifting possession to Saint Mary's.

Santilli's game, however, would draw to an early close with an elbow to the head on the stroke of half-time. She left the game with what appeared to be a concussion.

Whether it was Santilli's exit or Hutchison's half-time talk, Dal came out for the second half.

"I thought our back-line played well," said Huskies coach Mark Sweetapple after the game.

The back four for Saint Mary's were certainly tested as the Tigers attacked with a combination of any of six attackers throughout the second half.

They failed to find the net, however, there most dangerous chance coming when Jeanette Huck dribbled along the byline before shooting from a tight angle, forcing a save from the Saint Mary's keeper.

"Dal are considered to be one of the league's better teams," said Sweetapple. "[The result]'ll give our girls confidence."

The Huskies also lost Taylor Mitchell to a knee injury, although Sweetapple is unsure as of yet how serious it is.

The two teams meet again on Sunday afternoon at Husky Stadium. Hutchison would like to see this game's improvement carry over into Sunday.

"If we go from there to getting better on Sunday, then I'll be a happy coach."


Stats (Strictly Unofficial)

Goals: Dal-0; SMU-0
Shots (On Target): Dal-9; SMU-3
Attempts (Total): Dal-15; SMU-4
Fouls: Dal-4; SMU-7
Cautions: Dal-0; SMU-1
Ejections: Dal-0; SMU-0
Injuries: Dal-1; SMU-1 (Dal: 45+' Reika Santilli; SMU: 57' Taylor Mitchell)
Offsides: Dal-0; SMU-0

As It Happened: Dalhousie Tigers (W) vs. Saint Mary's Huskies (W) ---Preseason---

September 4th, 2009 5:00pm F.B. Wickwire Memorial Field, Halifax, Nova Scotia



Sorry we couldn't bring this to you live. We're working on the internet connection for next time.




4:31pm: This is going to be a big, big game. The ref is wearing flipflops. Dal showed up with all the enthusiasm of recently dead corpses and hauled themselves across the field in a thoroughly zombified way.



4:34pm: SMU are now straggling in, looking thrilled to be playing in this heat, on a verys ticky day. There is a light breeze, though, and there won't be any rain.



4:40pm: Building this up.... I'd say SMU have a decent chance. Hard to say, given it's preseason. SMU have beaten Dal before. It'll be close, at any rate. Why? Because it always is. It's Dal-SMU.



4:41pm: Ref update--the flipflops are gone, which is probably good news.



4:49pm: New captain for Dal today, with Stephanie Collins leaving. Jeanette Huck takes over, I think.



Here are your teams as best I can make them out. Bear in mind this is a friendly and I don't have a roster sheet, so I'm combining this from word of mouth, last year's roster, and other such things. I'll just give the jersey number of anyone I can't figure out.



Dal: Holm, D'Apollonia, Henry, C. MacDonald, Boldgett, Lye, Richard, Santilli, K. MacDonald, Landry, Huck.



SMU: Justine Caldwell, Peters, Currie, Donald, Jennifer Caldwell, #18, Turner-Chiasson, Holland, Clarke (?), Hunter, Rostaert. Again, pretty uncertain here without the roster. Anyone could be wearing any number, you see.



1min: We're off. No clock, annoyingly. Bear with me.



4min: The midfield will be very happy with the attention it's getting, with so many players in it early on. SMU's #18 tries a run from which nothing comes.



7min: Very little to report so far. Not even any tactical interest, though if SMU sit back any further they'll fall over.



9min: A SMU long ball sends #18 flying past Lye, but Holm gathers easily. Now a SMU throw pings around before Boldgett clears.



11min: Dal win a free kick, which is repelled very easily and eventually cleared.



12min: Rostaert handled the ball there, before miscontrolling it off her head for a Dal throw. Veyr symbolic of the game so far.



14min: D'Apollonia gets stripped but recovers very quickly.



16min: D'Apollonia now gets lectured by the referee before being withdrawn for #13. Dal coach Jack Hutchison reminds the ref that it's a friendly. The ref ignores him.



17min: As if to vindicate Hutchison, the ref calls three niggly fouls on SMU.



19min: Santilli launches forward in a decent attack before tripping over the ball and landing on her face. Now Boldgett dawdles on the ball and is dispossed. It goes out for a Dal throw, though. It's preseason alright.



20min: I presume, given he got them to nationals last year, that Jack Hutchison knows what he's doing tactically. I've never understood his plan, though. Why try to lob long balls to MacDonald, who's about 5'7"?



23min: Decent break for Richard on a drive into the box, but a push from Donald stops her. All shoulder, and the ref wisely keeps her whistle in the pocket.



24min: Landry comes off for #4, which used to be Meagan Beaton before she left last year. They'll have unlimited subs tonight, what with it being preseason.



26min: This game is being played with what they call "early season form." SMU's Kirbey Hunter comes off for Burgess. Richard is also coming off for Dal, to be replaced by #8. Huck moves out wide to accomodate.



28min: Santilli gets mauled as the ref gives a free kick SMU's way. It's a goal kick as it deflects behind.



31min: Change for SMU: it's #18 out for Hunter, who's back from a brief break.



32min: Santilli gives it away, and SMU break, but Colleen MacDonald puts a solid challenge in to win it.



34min: Boldgett sends a nice pass down the near touchline. #4 can't control it, but a throw results, from which Santilli whips a good ball in. Huck misses the header and SMU hack it clear.



36min: Huck cuts around SMU #6 but can't quite keep the ball in. Unfortunate, there. Dal have finally arrived for this game.



38min: Lye gets the ball near the corner flag and floats a nice cross in. Huck finds #8, who can't quite control before Caldwell smothers it. Best chance so far, though.

41min: SMU break on the counter, but Colleen MacDonald clears. Another sub. It's AMU's Turner Chiasson off to be replaced by Yates, I think, though with these numbers it's hard to know. Off the throw, everyone seems to miss the ball. Two SMU players go for it but neither gets it and Dal put it behind. The ensuing corner is wasted.

43min: Both these teams are showing very well why long-ball tactics are so mind-numbingly boring.

44min: A throw sends Clarke in, but Colleen MacDonald puts it out for a corner. It's floated in and Currie forces Holm to tip over fom the header.

45min: The follow-up corner is driven straight at the first defender. It pings around a bit until Dal clear.

45+min: #8 flicks a nice one-touch pass to Huck, who scuffs it to the keeper.

45+min: Yates bundles over Lye, and the free kick is flicked goalwards by #8's head before being cleared for a corner. Kate MacDonald will send it. It's volleyed by Huck and the shot deflects out for another corner. This one is passed around (yes, passed! On the ground!) for awhile before finding its way to Huck, but her shot lacks power and the keeper snags it as it floated to the top corner.

45+min: Donald sends a free kick in from the left, but Holm claims confidently as #6 lurked there.

45+min: And now Huck's in! She cuts by the defender easily but Caldwell comes out to cut the angle and takes the ball away very quickly.

Half-Time: Santilli's just been brained by Rostaert with an elbow. She's still down and the ref's call half. No card shown that I can see, but Santilli's hurt and still not up. The physio is out and working on her. She's moving a bit and holding her head. Ah, wait, there has been a yellow for that. Which is appropriate. Santilli's on her knees now, being checked for concussion symptoms, now. It doesn't look good for her.

She's off, under her own power, with some support. Good to see, but I'd say she's done in this game.

It's been a pretty boring half. It did liven up a bit at the end, and the injury adds something to talk about. I happened to be writing at the time, but judging from the reaction and the location on the challenge, I doubt there was any swinging of the elbow, so the yellow card is the right response. It was just a challenge for the ball, onfortunate, but part fo the game. Santilli hadn't been having a great game anyway, so this might give Hutchison an impetus to change things up.

45min: The ref blows the whistle and the teams take the field. And the subs: Heather Armstrong has taken over from Holm. Santilli is out for Landry, who moves wide left and #8 moves into the middle. They kick off and immediately SMU apply pressure.

46min: SMU give away a free kick on the right. It's headed away for a corner. Kate MacDonald will put it in the outswinger. The resulting header is blocked and Landry sends it easily to SMU's new goalkeeper, this time it's Ashleigh Bellefontaine, I think.

47min: Dal's #8 spreads play wide to Landry, who skies her shot over. The chances are starting to come, now they can work on finish.

49min: A strong opening for Dal here with some sustained pressure in the final third. Better transition through the midfield, too--much faster.

50min: Kate MacDonald starts a chance off and ends it, too. She sent it wide to Huck, who beat her mark and crossed, but MacDonald missed the return pass. Boldgett, I think, off for Richard.

52min: And Richard immediately creates a chance. She pushes it to the byline and tries to cut towards goal. She's held off very physically by Currie, who certainly risked a penalty there. She never really worked the keeper, though. SMU have withdrawn Hunter for Turner-Chiasson and meanwhile Dal remove Henry for MacNeill (?).

55min: #8 strikes one across the goal from 25 yards out. It's a good shot but Bellefontaine deals with it quite nicely.

57min: Shocking decision from the ref! Dal #8 is in the penalty areas staring down the keeper and SMU's Taylor Mitchell keels over. The ref blows play. There had been a tussle for the ball, where, if anything, Mitchell had fouled Dal's #8. It'll be interesting to see what happens, but given they're examining her ankle, I see no reason why play should have stopped, as it wasn't a head injury. And the SMU coach has taken the opportunity to chat with his team on the field. I suppose the defense is that it's a friendly, but tell that to Dal's #8.

60min: This injury looks bad. She's still down, and everyone is standing around sharing a bit of gossip. Ah, she's up now and being helped off, although she's walking easily enough.

61min: Dal sportingly play it out, Waste of a goal, if you ask me. Last I checked, the laws of the game still apply in friendlies.

62min: Huck chips a shot toawrds goal which misses, but not by nuch.

63min: Jeanette Huck! Now she's got it again, turning Peters before driving a shot across the six-yard box. Bellefontaine palms it away. Great chance and the best so far.

65min: Dal had pressure but SMU #18 sends a cross to the top of the box. Rostaert controls nicely and should have carved out a chance, but didn't.

66min: Huck pops up again, cuts inside, jumps a tackle and curls one past the elbow of the net. Huck has taken over this game.

68min: Dal #13 makes way, along with #2, for #7 and Amanda Henry. I can't wait for rosters to be released.

71min: Hutchison looks to rest Huck, I think, bringing in #13 again. Richard moves to right back, and #7 to left back.

72min: Armstrong gets bored and decides to come for a ball she shouldn't have. She nearly gets burned but the clash results in the ball bouncing awya harmlessly. Pressure ensues, and #18 gets a chance before making a bad pass to Rostaert, and it all comes to nothing. Richard's come off for Jeanette Huck, who moves to the back line, now.

74min: Landry has a try from a ridiculous angle. Bellefontaine does well to hold on to it, though.

75min: Dal work half a chance and Huck plays the cross out of play. SMU have just switched to their third goalkeeper tongiht, who I assume from last year's roster is Alicia Wilson, though we'll never likely be sure.

77min: Dal work half a chance and try to find #13. The ball flies loose and caroms off of Kate MacDonald's face, She's alright, after a breather. Now Landry's come off for Richard.

79min: Richard creates down the left, rolling a tantalising cross into the middle. #8 can't control it, though.

80min: Dal #8 swerves a shot into Wilson's chest. Easy save, but the build-up is getting better.

81min: Dal get a three-on-two break, but #4 elects to shoot off the right flank, rather than look for Richard or #8.

82min: Dal win a corner. It's overhit by MacDonald, but she gets to the box and recovers for a shot, which goes wide.

84min: SMU break the other way and Clarke gets a little more space than necessary. She shot was always going wide, but Armstrong was careful.

88min: A SMU long throw forces Armstrong to claim bravely over Rostaert.

89min: Dal withdraw #4 for Landry. More Dal pressure leads to a chance but #8 can't connect on her header. This second half has been much better than the first.

90+min: A nice turn from Rostaert looks to have set her free, but Colleen MacDonald is there, staying right with her to poke the ball away.

90+min: Lye launches a 30 yard shot at goal, but it loses speed quick and is saved easily by Wilson.

90+min: Landry cuts inside the box and is pulled back. There's no call, and Huck decides to have a go from way, way out, which is caught easily by Wilson.

Full-Time comes and it's a 0-0 finish, which is a tad unfortunate. The second half certainly deserved a goal, even if the first half didn't.

We'll be back on Sunday for the rematch at SMU, and then on Tuesday for the men against Halifax City. With luck, they'll be a goal next time.