Antigonish, NS - The StFX X-Women, on the strength of two Kelsey Ellis goals, defeated the UPEI Panthers 4-0 on a beautiful Sunday afternoon at StFX Oland Stadium.
StFX played confidently throughout the 90 minutes and made it difficult for the Panthers to gain any sort of foothold on the game. The first scoring chance of the match, however, went to the Panthers. Jennifer Balderston (Cornwall, PEI) stepped up to take a free kick in the 15th minute and it cruelly hit the post.
In the 28th minute StFX made their good play count with Kelsey Ellis's (Ottawa, ON) first goal of the match. The scoring play began with Larissa White (Westphal, NS) taking advantage of the open field in front of her and making a driving run. She picked out Mercy Miles (Accra, Ghana) with a nice pass, who then threaded the ball through to Ellis. Ellis timed her run perfectly and calmly fired the ball along the deck and into the back of the net.
StFX doubled their lead in the 56th minute on a goal by Mercy Myles. The StFX front three of Myles, Ellis and rookie Amanda Smith (Ottawa, ON) were excellent all game and in this instance their pressure on the Panthers back line led to a Myles shot being deflected off the foot of Danielle Younker (Charlottetown, PEI) and into the UPEI net.
The third X-Women goal was almost a carbon copy of the first with White making a darting run and then putting a through by for Ellis to chase. Ellis ran on to the ball and her first touch was perfectly timed for her low shot that eluded Panthers keeper Ali Muise (Charlottetown, PEI) as the home team took a 3-0 lead in the 62nd minute.
The fourth goal came in the 82nd minute by way of an 18-yard strike by Chloe Brennan (Brookside, NS). Kelsey Ellis, holding up the ball expertly, spotted an oncoming Brennan and placed the ball at her feet. Brennan took a few strides with the ball before she uncoiled a brilliant shot into the top corner of the net
Despite the scoreline there were numerous positives the Panthers could take from the game. Balderston's ability from free kicks will give all teams a cause to worry. The back four were solid with the centre backs of Younker and Jenna Mae Ellsworth (Charlottetown, PEI) especially so. Last but not least, the impressive front three were led by first year Madison Hurley (Charlottetown, PEI) whose intelligent play both on and off the ball were those of a seasoned AUS veteran.
Four her four point effort (two goals, two assists), the Subway Player of the Game was awarded to StFX striker Kelsey Ellis. Younker was named the Panthers player of the game.
UPEI will see AUS action again on Friday, September 28th when they host the Aigles Bleues at 5:00 pm.
StFX will host Acadia in Antigonish next Sunday, September 30th for Homecoming weekend at 1:00 pm.
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Courtesy Bart Sears, StFX Sports Information