A look ahead at the teams vying for the 2018 AUS women's soccer title
The 2018 Subway AUS Soccer Championships are being hosted Nov. 1 to 4 by Cape Breton University in Sydney, N.S.
This marks the first time in Atlantic University Sport history that the men's and women's championships have been hosted together.
The women's championship gets underway Thursday with the playoff quarterfinals doubleheader.
QF#1: Memorial Sea-Hawks (6th) vs. Dalhousie Tigers (3rd)
The sixth-seeded Memorial Sea-Hawks (4-4-4) will face off against the no. 3 seed Dalhousie Tigers (7-4-1) at 11:30 a.m. AST.
The Sea-Hawks will be led by senior midfielder and AUS first team all-star Teri Murphy (St. John's, N.L.) and first team conference all-star keeper Sydney Walsh (St. John's, N.L.).
Senior defender and AUS first time all-star Taylor Goodwin (Hammonds Plains, N.S.) will anchor the Dalhousie defence. The Tigers' offensive effort will be led by AUS first team all-star Maya Venkataraman (Summerland, B.C.), team leading scorer Jensen Judder (White's Lake, N.S.) who scored five goals in the regular season, and AUS second team all-star Stephanie Dyck (Mississauga, Ont.)
While Dalhousie enters the championship with the better record, the Sea-Hawks won the lone meeting between the two teams 1-0 this season on Sept. 23 in Halifax, N.S. The game-winning goal came from Memorial's Nicole Torraville (St. John's, N.L.).
QF#2: Saint Mary's Huskies (5th) vs. StFX X-Women (4th)
The no. 5-seed Saint Mary's Huskies (6-5-1) will take on the fourth-place StFX X-Women (5-3-4) in the second quarterfinal matchup of the championship, set to begin at 2p.m.
The Huskies will be led by freshman striker Anelise Karakostas (Victoria, B.C.) who led the Saint Mary's squad in scoring this season with three goals—including two game-winners—and an assist. She was named an AUS second tea all-star for her performance this regular season.
The StFX defence will be anchored by veteran defender Olivia Czipf (Thunder Bay, Ont.). The X-Women averaged just 1.00 goals against per game in the regular season and Czipf was named an AUS first team all-star.
StFX leading scorer and AUS first team all-star Kelsey Ellis (Ottawa, Ont.) will lead the way on offence. She scored a team-high eight goals and added three assists in the regular season for 11 points.
She'll be joined by first team conference all-star Mercy Myles (Accra, Ghana) who had a league-leading six assists on the season—along with three goals, for nine points—as well as senior midfielder and AUS second team all-star Chloe Brennan (Brookside, N.S.) who had four points for StFX this season (one goal and three assists).
If the lone meeting between these two teams in the regular season is any indicator, the second quarterfinal is anyone's game. The two teams faced off on Sept. 15 in Halifax, N.S. and the result was a 1-1 draw.
SF#1: Acadia Axewomen (2nd) vs. Highest Remaining Seed
The U SPORTS no. 8-ranked Acadia Axewomen posted an impressive 10-1-1 regular season record, with their sole loss coming at the hands of the U SPORTS no. 2-ranked Cape Breton Capers in the last game of the regular season on Oct. 26.
While the two teams finished with the same record, the loss to CBU saw the Axewomen slip to second place in the conference standings. Their second-place finish secured them the bye through the quarterfinal round, but sees them face the highest remaining seed in the semifinal round on Friday. Game time is set for 11:30 a.m.
AUS coach of the year Amit Batra leads this Axewomen team which includes four AUS all-stars and boasts a goals against average of 0.33 per game—the best in the conference.
The Axewomen managed a league-leading nine shutouts this season and allowed just four goals against in 12 games.
Senior striker and AUS first team all-star Jenna Boudreau (Halifax, N.S.) will lead the offensive charge for Acadia. She scored a team-high nine goals and added four assists in the regular season for 13 points—the second most in the conference.
She'll be joined by second team conference all-star Alexandra Scovil (Hubley, N.S.). The fourth-year midfielder had six goals and two assists in the regular season for eight points.
Acadia freshman and AUS first-team all-star Lauren Jodrey (Bedford, N.S.) will lead the league-leading defence, along with second team conference all-star keeper Sarah Charnock (Newmarket, Ont.).
Charnock played in seven games for the Axewomen this season, posting four shutouts, a goals against average of 0.57 and a save percentage of .852.
SF#2: Cape Breton Capers (1st) vs. Lowest Remaining Seed
The U SPORTS no. 2-ranked Cape Breton Capers will face off against the lowest remaining seed in the Friday's second semifinal matchup. The host Capers finished first in the AUS conference standings. They are AUS defending champions and 2017 U SPORTS silver medallists.
Led by two-time AUS MVP and AUS first team all-star Ciera Disipio (Ottawa, Ont.), the Cape Breton squad secured first place with a 10-1-1 regular season record. Their only loss of the season was a 1-0 defeat at the hands of the Saint Mary's Huskies Oct. 12 at home.
Disipio is joined by first team conference all-star and AUS rookie of the year Erin Freeman (Halifax, N.S.) who had three goals and six assists for nine points on the season in her inaugural year with the Capers.
AUS second team all-star midfielder Amelia Carlini (Ottawa, Ont.) will help lead the Cape Breton charge. The sophomore was second in team scoring this season with six goals.
Fifth-year defender and AUS first team all-star Becky Hanna (Howie Centre, N.S.) and third-year defender Kennedy Curry (Coldbrook, N.S.) will anchor the Capers defence which allowed just six goals against in 12 regular season games.
Championship Final: SF#1 Winner vs. SF#2 winner
Sunday at 1 p.m., the winners of the two semifinal matchups will face off for the conference title and the lone berth at the U SPORTS national championship being hosted in Ottawa Nov. 8 to 11 by the University of Ottawa.
The host Cape Breton Capers have claimed five AUS women's soccer championship banners in the past decade.
The Acadia Axewomen are on the hunt for the first conference title since 1996.
The X-Women last won the AUS championship in 2016, the Memorial Sea-Hawks in 2014.
The Dalhousie Tigers last won in back-to-back seasons in 2011 and 2012, and the Saint Mary's Huskies claimed their last women's soccer banner in 2002.
All games of the championship will be available via webcast, live at www.AUStv.ca.