Source: StFX Athletics
On seniors' day in Antigonish the StFX X-Men and Dalhousie Tigers played out an enthralling encounter with only one goal able to separate the sides, a Dan Hayfield (Exeter, UK) goal from the penalty spot in the 88th minute.
This was a highly-contested match over every blade of turf at Oland Stadium. There were great battles down both flanks and in the heart of midfield. Rookie Blake Fenton (Halifax, NS) and fifth-year player Kieran Moore (Cornwall, PEI) went toe to toe down the wing. In order to spray passes to the wingers, the ball had to be won in the middle of the pitch. For the X-Men it was seniors Liam Elbourne (Halifax, NS) and Cole Suart (Calgary, AB) up against the classy Freddy Bekkers (Halifax, NS) and the crafty Ahmed Abokar (Halifax, NS), all of whom used both courage and skill for the right to gain possession.
While there were numerous corner kicks for both teams, both Dal's TJ Leopold (Bedford, NS) and X's Thomas Pieroway (Conception Bay, NL) confidently turned all shots aside. The best chance of the opening half went to the X-Men when Ben Herringer (Calgary, AB) made a nice pass to Hayfield, who forced Leopold to make a great save.
The second half saw more back and forth action and numerous shoulder to shoulder challenges. It was difficult for either team to have any sustained periods of possession such was aggressive nature of the team without the ball. There were well-timed tackles and also quick closing in on the player in possession. The deciding moment in the match came when Tane Cabo (London, UK) made a quick move on the Dalhousie defender in the corner of the 18-yard box and the referee adjudged a foul was committed. The referee blew his whistle and pointed straight to the spot. Up stepped the league's leading goal scorer, Dan Hayfield, and he proved why with an assured strike into the corner of the net.
The player of the game for Dal was keeper TJ Leopold. The Subway Player of the Game was StFX's Cole Suart.
StFX will travel to Wolfville to face Acadia on Friday evening.
Dalhousie will host CBU next Saturday afternoon.