In the opening weekend of the AUS men's soccer season, the Cape Breton Capers and Memorial Sea-Hawks both swept their opponents, earning six points apiece.
The six-time defending AUS champion Capers kicked off the regular season in Fredericton, facing the UNB Reds, where they earned a 3-1 win. Zé Cunha, Elisiah Le and Amadou Bayo found the back of the net for the Capers, while Keji Adeniyi scored the lone goal for the home team in the loss.
Sunday, the Capers then blanked the Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus 3-0. Cameron Killbride and Owen Sheppard recorded tallies, while Capers goaltender Daniel Clarke made one save for the shutout.
The Sea-Hawks started their season at home, hosting the Dalhousie Tigers. Friday night, the Sea-Hawks blanked the visiting Tigers 1-0. In the 35th minute of play, Rodion Kichimov sent a through ball that split through the Tiger's defenders, giving Colin Connors a perfect opportunity, unleashing the ball past the Tigers goalie for the lone goal of the game. Louis-Charles Vaillancourt made two saves for Memorial for the shutout victory.
Sunday afternoon, the Sea-Hawks edged the Tigers 3-2. Felly Elonda gave Memorial the game-winner in the 61st minute of play. The Sea-Hawks would end the game with 16 shots on the Tigers' net. Other Memorial goals in the win came from Hashem Khalifa and Augustine Opuoro, while Mykeo Parker-Christm and Bennett Kishchuk scored for Dalhousie in the loss.
The UPEI Panthers picked up four points this weekend, playing to a victory and a draw. The Panthers shut out the Mount Allison Mounties 2-0 Friday night, with Riad Jaha and Kasper Lasia earning tallies. Isaac Wolters made two saves in net for UPEI, earning the shutout.
Saturday, the Panthers and Acadia Axemen played to a 2-2 draw. UPEI goals came from Will Campbell and Jacob Tweel, while Michael O'Flynn and Oscar Marshall found the back of the net for Acadia.
The Reds bounced back from their loss to the Capers Sunday, earning a come-from-behind win over the StFX X-Men. The Reds scored goals five minutes apart early in the second half to erase a 1-0 deficit to take the win. Stefano D'Ambrogio and Alex Oprea earned tallies in the win, while Kyle Cordeiro scored the lone goal for StFX in the loss.
The X-Men also split their weekend games, edging the Aigles Bleus 1-0 Saturday afternoon. Logan Rieck scored the lone goal in the win, while StFX defender Luke Green was named player of the game for the home side.
The Saint Mary's Huskies played just one game in the opening weekend, earning a 4-1 victory over the Axemen off a pair of goals by Woody Bains. Sean Freeman and Orion Wiersma also scored in the win, while Michael O'Flynn scored the lone goal for Acadia.
Friday, September 1
Dalhousie 0 at Memorial 1
Mount Allison 0 at UPEI 2
Saint Mary's 4 at Acadia 1
Saturday, September 2
Moncton 0 at StFX 1
UNB 1 at Cape Breton 3
Sunday, September 3
Dalhousie 2 at Memorial 3
Acadia 2 at UPEI 2
UNB 2 at StFX 1
Moncton 0 at Cape Breton 3
Standings
1. Cape Breton Capers (2-0-0)
2. Memorial Sea-Hawks (2-0-0)
3. UPEI Panthers (1-0-1)
4. Saint Mary's Huskies (1-0-0)
5. StFX X-Men (1-1-0)
6. UNB Reds (1-1-0)
7. Acadia Axemen (0-1-1)
8. Dalhousie Tigers (0-2-0)
9. Mount Allison Mounties (0-1-0)
10. Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus (0-2-0)