X-Women knock off top-seeded Capers to advance to championship final

(SYDNEY, N.S.) - The No. 4-seeded StFX X-Women knocked off the top-seeded Cape Breton Capers with a 1-0 victory in semifinal action of the Subway AUS Women's Soccer Championship Friday night at CBU Field.

The X-Women needed penalty kicks to seal the victory after the teams played 120 minutes of scoreless soccer.

The X-Women played a near perfect road game to earn a trip to the AUS finals. They defended and cleared the ball most of the game and goalie Nicole Macdonald (Kanata, Ont.) made several spectacular saves to take the game into extra time and through to penalty kicks.

The X-Women put in goalie Erin Visser (Whitby, Ont.) for the shootout. It turned out to be the right move as she saved one of the Capers shots.

After four StFX and CBU shooters exchanged penalty kick goals, Visser turned aside a shot by Chelsea Currie (Sydney, N.S.) and X-Women midfielder Chloe Brennan (Brookside, N.S.) blasted home the game-winning kick that sent StFX to the AUS championship game.

The Capers outshot the X-Women 7-3 and controlled the play for a good portion of the game. Cape Breton had 13 corner kicks but could not cash in on any of their chances.

Keona Simmonds (Brampton, Ont.) led the Capers with four shots, while Currie fired three shots on goal. Kelsey Ellis (Ottawa, Ont.) had all the shots for StFX.  

The X-Women will now face off against the No. 3-seeded Acadia Axewomen in Sunday's championship final at 2 p.m. The game will be televised live on Bell Aliant Fibe TV, channels 1 and 401, and available via webcast at www.AUStv.ca.

Acadia is hosting the national championship next weekend in Wolfville, N.S. As the Atlantic conference receives two berths at this year's CIS (now U Sports) championship, both teams have secured a trip to nationals.

Recap and photos courtesy of CBU Athletics