Cape Breton and St. FX Advance at AUS Women's Playoffs, Host MUN and UdeM Out

It wasn't a great day for the AUS Women's Playoffs hosts, the Memorial Sea-Hawks. They lost 2-0 to a Cape Breton side that knows how to win in these situations. St. FX beat UdeM 1-0 and will face Dalhousie tomorrow, recreating one of the closest matches the Tigers have had this season, when they won 2-1 over St. FX thanks to two goals from Katie Richard.

Top seed UPEI will meet Cape Breton in what could be something of an epic duel, featuring two teams with a lot of high-calibre players.
Memorial deserve credit for trying, and playing attacking soccer against the Capers, who have won four-straight AUS titles, even if they look underdogs to repeat this year. It can be tempting to bunker against CBU, since striker Erika Lannon is even more dangeorus on the counter.

It wasn't Lannon who did in the Sea-Hawks, but rather Nicholle Morrison, who beat Keira Eavis in the 56th minute.

Three minutes later Tara Rogers banged in an insurance marker to send the hosts home.

A power outage delayed the game at the 50th minute, and perhaps threw off the Memorial defense. Power outages are something of a soccer phenomenon--many may remember the massive technical failures during Euro 2008, caused by thunderstorms. In Latin America, it can be political instability cutting power. They affect both teams, though, and soccer is more about which team can better adapt to harsh conditions. CBU took advantage.

Université de Moncton played carefully with St.FX, rarely getting forward in attack. As the X-Women have shown, though, they can score quickly, and Amy McKinnon did so in the 24th minute, knocking in a cross.

UdeM couldn't mount much of a comeback at all and saw their season end in a disappointing defeat.

Weather conditions were bad in Newfoundland, though not bad enough to cancel games.

Memorial will lose four key players this off-season, including Laura Breen, who was the only AUS representee on the Canadian Universiade roster this summer, as well as Leslie Pope, Malorie Harris, and Nichole Adams. That will mean a very new look for the Sea-Hawks next year as they look for two new midfielders, a defender, and try to replace 2008's conference goal scoring leader. It won't be easy, and this might mark the beginning of a rebuilding period for Memorial as they find their next star.

Source: http://www.mun.ca/