Capers open AUS regular season with home win over Reds
By Corey LeBlanc
Sydney – The Cape Breton University (CBU) Capers (1-0) – six-time defending Atlantic University Sport (AUS) men's soccer champions – kicked off the conference regular season with a 3-1 win over the UNB Reds (0-1) Saturday afternoon on the turf at Ness Timmons Soccer Field.
In a battle of top programs in the conference, the sides exchanged early chances on set pieces, but it remained scoreless.
The first high-end scoring opportunity for either side came in the 16th minute, when junior defender-midfielder Zé Cunha (Cascais, Portugal) tested UNB freshman keeper Mahmoud Moustafa (Charlottetown, PE), who made a diving stop.
On the final of three successive corner kicks for the home side, Zé Cunha directed a header – off the pass from first-year defender Sebastien Cochrane (Toronto, ON) – that beat Moustafa and put the Capers up 1-0.
A short time later, off consecutive corner kicks – and one free kick – for the Reds, junior keeper Daniel Clarke (Milton Keynes, England) made a sensational save, soaring to deflect a strike over the crossbar with his right hand.
In the 44th minute, the 2022 AUS first-team all-star made a similar quality save on junior striker Stefano D'Ambrogio (Toronto, ON) to keep the visitors off the scoresheet.
In the final seconds before halftime, the Reds finally solved Clarke, who had no chance off a goal line scramble. The Caper 'D' blocked a Luke Rossetani (Kanata, ON) shot before Keji Adeniyi (London, UK) deposited the rebound to knot the contest 1-1 heading to the locker room.
In the second half, CBU came out flying, with their lead goal coming in the 47th minute. Off another Cochrane corner kick, Moustafa made a sprawling stop on another Zé Cunha header. The rookie keeper couldn't get back into the play before Caper freshman defender Elijah Le (Vaughan, ON) regained the lead at 2-1.
For the following 10 to 15 minutes, both teams had scoring chances on set pieces – both corner kicks and free kicks – but neither side could score.
In the 68th minute, freshman forward Amadou Bayo (Montreal, QC) soared over an UNB defender to head home a free kick off the foot of fourth-year defender Benjamin Fortuin (Maidenhead, England).
Late in the match, off an incredible lead pass from Zé Cunha, veteran midfielder Cameron Kilbride (Blackpool, England) could not best Moustafa with his deflection.
Junior midfielder Lars Gierull (Ottawa, ON) garnered the player of the game nod for UNB and Zé Cunha for the Capers.
The Reds will return to action on Sunday, Sept. 3, when they visit the STFX X-Men in Antigonish, in a 3:15 p.m. start, while the Capers will host the Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus, beginning at 5:15 p.m. ADT.