Heenan the hero as Dal tops Saint Mary's 2-0
Two second half goals from striker Kallen Heenan (Dartmouth, NS) proved to be the difference on Sunday afternoon at Wickwire Field, as the Dalhousie Tigers topped their cross-town rival Saint Mary’s Huskies 2-0.
(Halifax, N.S.) – Two second half goals from striker Kallen Heenan (Dartmouth, NS) proved to be the difference on Sunday afternoon at Wickwire Field, as the Dalhousie Tigers topped their cross-town rival Saint Mary's Huskies 2-0.
It was also the annual senior's game, as Dalhousie players James Nearing (Bedford, NS), Pawel Gorski (Halifax, NS), Jack Schembri (Mahone Bay, NS), Robbie Engert (Ottawa, ON) and Will Kafeero (Ottawa, ON) were acknowledged in the last home contest of their AUS careers.
Both sides had quality chances to open the scoring in the first half.
Saint Mary's nearly cracked the scoreboard in the opening minute off of a shot by midfielder Tyler Sellars (Moncton, NB) that beat Dalhousie goalkeeper TJ Leopold (Bedford, NS) but not the post.
The momentum shifted in the 13th minute after a red card was called on Huskies midfielder Kwaku Korankye (Accra, Ghana), forcing the visitors to play down a man.
Dalhousie would proceed to pepper Saint Mary's goaltender Christian Oxner (Halifax, NS) with nine first half shots – seven of which were on target – but couldn't break the deadlock.
Their best opportunity occurred in the 30th minute as Bekkers was able to solve Oxner, but not defender Avery Senz (Elmsdale, NS), who bailed his goalie out to keep the game scoreless heading to the second half.
The second half was the Heenan show, as he provided the eventual game-winner just three minutes in on a brilliant individual effort. He would add an insurance marker just over 10 minutes later to seal the victory for Dalhousie.
Saint Mary's managed to apply some pressure in the closing 15 minutes of the game, however were largely unable to form a solid attack due to being down a man.
With the win, the Tigers advanced to 5-0-6, while Saint Mary's fell to 1-7-2. The Huskies next action goes on Wednesday on the road against StFX, while Dalhousie will close out their regular season against the same Saint Mary's team this Friday – this time on the Huskies turf.
By: Mike Still, Dalhousie Athletics