As It Happened: Dalhousie Tigers (W) v. Acadia Axewomen (W)---AUS Sept. 26, 2009

2:46pm: Pregame hobnob: The Acadia Axewomen (has there ever been a worse compound word?) are at least better than the Acadia Axemen. Dal are better than their 2-0-2 record suggests. But enough of stats. Nobody cares about stats. What people (or at least me, and I'm the only one who really counts here since we're not doing this and you don't even have a voice to write in and stop me going on this digression--tough) is why I think "Axewomen" is the worst compound word ever. "Is he," they ask, "really that sexist? He covers women's soccer for crying out loud." But my motives are purely metaphysical. Can a woman not be called an axeman? What is an axeman, anyway? I mean, presumably if Acadia striker Michelle Davey comes onto the pitch wielding a massive axe, then we can assume she has bigger problems than what is essentially grammar. Though coming onto the field with a massive axe might intimidate Dal a bit. Why should we call axemen axemen? Isn't that just as sexist? Yes, it is. So we'll be calling everyone "axepeople" today, which is probably an even worse compound word than axewomen.

2:54pm: My highly intellectual musings on the structure of "axewomen" as a word has wasted just about enough time and the teams are just about to start thinking about maybe taking to the field. The ref goes off to turn off the music. He can't, so we'll just have to ignore the awful, cheesy seventies rock music until it slowly fades away into nothingness. Nobody can find the PA guy, either, so we'll have to do without line-ups, too.

Teams as best I can make them out:

Dal: McKenna, Huck, Henry, C. MacDonald, MacLean, McKilligan, Santilli, Morrison, Nugget, Hardy, Richard. Subs: Crewe, O'Reilly, Johnstone, Blodgett, Donald, Landry, Armstrong.

Axepeople: Moignard, Bleakney, Balan, Murphy, Fry, Curci, O'Connor, Hebert, Hache, Crocker, Landry. Subs: Davey, Doyle, Stunz, Millet, Fisher, Fiorett, a couple other people who I couldn't catch during warm-ups.

1min: Acadia kick-0ff.

3min: An Acadia free kick results in a dangerous header which flies wide.

4min: Richard gets past the back line and Moignard decides to meet her around 35 yards. Richard goes around her and floats a shot wide of an empty goal.

6min: GOAL! (Morrison 2) MacLean manages to float in a good cross without pulling her groin and Morrison flicks it past a miles out of position Stephanie Moignard. That was surprisingly easy for Dal.

8min: Acadia remove Hache for Stunz.

9min: Santilli bounces a shot towards Moignard who manages to be int he right position this time.

11min: Kristen Crocker gets booked for pulling Huck's shirt. Bit harsh for an early foul. Crocker'll have to be careful now.

14min: Dal look a lot better with MacLean on the left. She gets forward and supports, at least as long as her frequently injured groin holds up. Of course, as I write this, she lets Lauren Landry get past her on the wing. Landry's cross is too deep for Crocker to connect on, though.

19min: Hardy makes a good steal in the box and crosses, but it comes to nothing. Dal will bring off MacLean for Crewe. That's likely a rest move--MacLean's been injured for almost a month.

21min: Morrison gets her lethal left boot on a loose ball. Her first try is blocked and her second curls wide, with Moignard helpless.

23min: Morrison now makes a lovely move to win space before picking out Hardy, who makes a mess of controlling the pass and loses possession.

27min: Santilli wins a ball with fight more reminiscent of an axeperson and launches one on goal from 25 yards, which Moignard saves.

29min: Save McKenna! Landry latches onto a pass from Stunz that was almost certainly offside and gets in alone. McKenna comes out and chests the shot away.

32min: Landry comes off for Sara Reid and Hardy for Blodgett. Blodgett immediately wins a chance and Richard tries to cross when she should have left the chance for Blodgett.

33min: Nugget gets on the end of a long ball but can't generate much. Crewe, who may as well have never come on for how invisible she's been, is replaced by MacLean.

39min: Acadia just don't have a plan right now. Dal's defense has been a bit ponderous, which has been responsible for most of Acadia's chances, and could be exploited for more. Acadia seem to have an oddly effective lack of strategy, though.

42min: Crocker comes out for Kristen Millet.

45min: Half-time is called. Dal have a valuable lead, since Acadia isn't exactly a scoring machine, for all their axewielding machismo. Oh, don't let me get started on that again. I've got 5 classes a term to discuss the role of women in everything. I think we can safely use the word "machismo" in a women's soccer match, don't you?

45min: Second half changes: Johnstone's in for McKilligan, Donald for Richard, and Landry for Blodgett. Acadia make no changes.

47min: Landry gets on the end of a pass from Nugget and wins a corner. They work a set play to Huck, who slashes a shot in. It deflects past Moignard to Donald, who can't put it in.

52min: There's chaos in the Dal box as a free kick comes in. Acadia don't make much from the panic, though.

53min: Now it's a Dal change, Nugget for O'Reilly.

54min: McKenna--not for the first time tonight--overplays a backpass. This time she's caught by Millet, who should score except McKenna grabs her heels as she tries to shoot. Somehow the ref missed that.

57min: Henry gets booked for a very soft foul in midfield.

61min: O'Reilly pops up for a rare cameo appearance, swirling in a cross. Landry misses it but it finds its way back to Donald, who slips as she tries to shoot.

64min: Morrison gets space in the box and gets onto her left again. She drives it low and hard, but Moignard gets down to it. Acadia sub off Reid for Landry.

66min: GOAL! (Donald 1) Donald gets onto a through pass which ran straight past the Axepeople centre backs. Not too hard for the veteran to roll it past a charging Moignard.

68min: Dal should really score again as a muchness of ball watching in the Acadia defense leads to a chance which Johnstone should control, but doesn't. Nugget on for Landry and O'Connor in for Balan.

72min: Acadia now remove Millet for Crocker.

73min: Acadia with some pressure now, though it's still disorganized and a bit too late, really.

74min: Inexplicable keeper swap alert! Acadia's Doyle comes on for Moignard.

78min: Nugget and MacLean switch off for Crewe and Landry. And our usual, lovable PA guy is back, making sure to call Landry "Laundry" and Crewe "Croon." Pure phonetic art, right there.

80min: Donald wins a chance by blocking a clearance which nearly ends up in the net. Laura Landry then does the same thing for Acadia at the other end, also without scoring.

82min: Curci off for Davey.

84min: Lauren Landry capitalizes on a horrendous turnover from Crewe and tests McKenna, though admittedly not very stringently.

87min: Corner to Acadia. It comes in dangerously, but the Axepeople simply don't have the resources to convert.

90+min: Emma "Laundry" gets in and forces Doyle to her left. Not a difficult save, really. Should've gone top shelf, Emma.

Full-time: A predictable, though maybe less commanding result than Dal would like. I have to do interviews, so I'm off. Thanks for reading.