Humbling weekend for MUN soccer teams
Lady Birds manage only scoreless tie with St. FX, while the men’s squad drop a pair of games
The Memorial Sea-hawks men’s and women’s soccer teams, off to a quick start this season, got a jolt of reality over the weekend in Nova Scotia.
The Lady Birds, the seventhranked team in the country entering weekend play at 4-0, were humbled 5-0 by the University of Cape Breton Capers Saturday, before playing the St. Francis Xavier X-women to a scoreless draw Sunday.
The men, meanwhile, who were 3-1 before weekend games, dropped a pair to Cape Breton and St. FX.
Saturday night in Sydney, rookie Memorial keeper Sydney Walsh, who had three shutouts in her first four games, was torched for five goals on 12 shots.
Among the Cape Breton goalscorers was St. John’s native Alyssa Armstrong.
While the 4-1-1 Sea-hawks were seventh in U Sports rankings, the Capers, now 5-0 and sitting alone in first place, sat two spots behind.
Those placings will no doubt change this week.
Sunday in Antigonish, N.S., the Sea-hawks’ high-powered offence was stymied again, but at least this time the defence came to play, shutting down the X-women with Walsh stopping 10 shots.
Next weekend, MUN is home to 0-4-1 University of New Brunswick.
As for the Sea-hawks’ men’s squad, Memorial dropped a 1-0 decision to St. FX Sunday afternoon. The first-place X-men improved to 5-0-1.
Saturday night, the Seahawks lost 3-2 to Cape Breton. Memorial’s Tyler Forsey opened scoring, but the Capers replied. Fomba Fambulleh put the Sea-hawks up by one before the home team booted two straight goals for the tie and eventual win.
The UNB men’s team, 1-2-2, also travels to St. John’s next weekend.