CBU: favourites for championships
Predictions for the AUS men’s and women’s soccer championship tournaments this weekend
On a chilly mid-November day in Kamloops, B.C., Ben Jackson made history for Cape Breton University with a leaping fingertip save in penalty kicks, leading the Cape Breton Capers men’s soccer team to a 3-2 win over the Montréal Carabins and the program’s first men’s national championship.
Meanwhile, hours away in Winnipeg, Man, the Capers women’s team were also in a battle for a national title with the Carabins, a game that would only feature one goal — that goal coming from the Quebecbased university in the first half and forcing Cape Breton to settle for a national silver medal, a feat that should be recognized.
Yes, the Cape Breton University teams certainly made local soccer fans proud last season with their national medals, but in order to get to the nationals, both teams had to earn the right by winning the Atlantic University Sport championship titles — the men victorious in Sydney and the women in Antigonish.
Although preparation for national championship runs began in August with the training camp, both Capers teams’ seasons will come down to the wire this weekend when Cape Breton University makes history, hosting both the men’s and women’s AUS championships in Sydney this weekend — the first time a school has hosted both events in the same year.
Like last season, both Capers teams finished the regular season first overall in the AUS standings. The men’s team went undefeated with a 10-0-2 record, the ties coming against the UNB Reds and Memorial SeaHawks. As for the women, they finished the year with a 10-1-1 record, the club’s only loss coming to Saint Mary’s, 1-0, on Oct. 12.
Both Cape Breton teams enter this year’s championship tournaments as favourites to win. However, as sports fans know, the favourites don’t always win, and I’m sure if you ask coaches Deano Morley and Stephen (Ness) Timmons, they’re not taking things for granted this weekend.
Over the years, the Capers have been favourites before to win AUS titles but found themselves losing in either the semifinal or championship games.
A prime example, in 2016 in Sydney, the women’s soccer team finished atop of the league standings with an 11-1-0 record, earning a first-round bye. The team would play St. Francis Xavier University, a No. 4 seed, who beat UNB 2-1 in the quarter-final the day before. The X-Women went on to stun the Capers, defeating the Cape Breton squad 1-0 in penalty kicks, and later winning the championship.
In fairness to the women Capers, in the other semifinal, the second-place Memorial SeaHawks (10-1-1) were knocked out of the AUS tournament, losing 2-1 in double overtime to No. 3 seed Acadia University.
Of course, local soccer fans don’t want to see the Capers lose in the AUS championship game. But, that’s why the games are played, and sports is so unpredictable. Throw the regular season standings out the window, because they mean nothing now. Yes, the two top teams get a first-round bye — that’s important during the regular season — but anything can happen now because it’s a new season.
With that being said, here are my AUS championship predictions for this weekend.
Men’s Division: Quarter-final: UNB Reds (No. 3 seed) Vs. Moncton Aigles Bleues (No. 6 seed) - Prediction: UNB win - Note: UNB won the season series 1-0 and have scored a league-leading 37 goals in the regular season.
Quarter-Final: Dalhousie Tigers (No. 4 seed) Vs. Acadia Axemen (No. 5 seed) - Prediction: Acadia win - Note: Acadia won the season series 1-0 and potted 30 goals on the year, nine more than Dalhousie, and blanked the Tigers 4-0 on Oct. 19 in Halifax.
Semifinals: Cape Breton Capers (No. 1 seed) Vs. Acadia Axemen (No. 5 seed) - Prediction: Cape Breton win - Note: Cape Breton and Acadia played in their final regular season game last week, with the Capers shutting out the Axemen 4-0 in Wolfville. Cape Breton enters the game on a five-game winning streak as well.
Semifinals: St. Francis Xavier X-Men (No. 2 seed) Vs. UNB Reds (No. 3 seed) - Prediction: UNB win - Note: The Reds only
finished one point back of the X-Men in the standings and have only allowed seven goals against in 12 games. The Antigonish school did beat the Reds 2-0 this season, but that was UNB’s second game of the year on Sept. 9.
Championship: Cape Breton Capers (No. 1 seed) Vs. UNB Reds (No. 3 seed) - Prediction: Cape Breton win (Final Score: 1-0) - Note: Cape Breton and UNB tied its only game of the year, way back on Sept. 8. Both teams scored 35-plus goals this season, but with Ben Jackson between the pipes and the Capers’ potent offense, it puts Cape Breton over the top.
Women’s division: Quarter-Final: Dalhousie Tigers (No. 3 seed) Vs. Memorial SeaHawks (No. 6 seed) - Prediction: Dalhousie win - Note: Dalhousie scored the third-most goals (20) in the league. Memorial scored only six goals in 12 games.
Quarter-Final: St. Francis Xavier X-Women (No. 4 seed) Vs. Saint Mary’s Huskies (No. 5 seed) - Prediction: St. Francis Xavier win (penalty kicks) - Note: You can’t get a much more even matchup. Both teams finished with 19 points, but Saint Mary’s has allowed 22 goals against to STFX’s 12.
Semifinals: Cape Breton Capers (No. 1 seed) Vs. St. Francis Xavier X-Women (No. 4 seed) - Prediction: Cape Breton win - Note: The Capers won the season series 2-0 with 2-1 and 3-0 wins over the Antigonish school.
Semifinals: Acadia Axewomen (No. 2 seed) Vs. Dalhousie Tigers (No. 3 seed) - Prediction: Acadia win - Note: The Axewomen won the season series 1-0 and don’t have any problems finding the back of the net.
Championship: Cape Breton Capers (No. 1 seed) Vs. Acadia Axewomen (No. 2 seed) - Prediction: Cape Breton win (Final Score: 2-1 in penalty kicks) - Note: Both teams match up fairly evenly, both finishing with 31 points on the year and had identical 10-1-1 records. Cape Breton had the most goals (36) in the league, while Acadia had the second most (28). Acadia allowed four goals against, while Cape Breton allowed six goals against.
The winners of the tournament will advance to the U Sports National Championships, Nov. 8-11, in Vancouver, B.C. (men) and Ottawa, Ont., (women).