Wahdan scores in Tigers loss to STFX
Mo Wahdan had the lone Tigers goal in their 2-1 loss to STFX
[Halifax, NS] – The Dalhousie Tigers fell by 2 goals to 1 to the Saint Francis Xavier X-Men late Saturday afternoon at Wanderers Grounds in Halifax.
In this contest, the X-Men flew out of the gates and stunned the Tigers with two quick goals from Isaac VanWychen (Middle Musquodoboit, NS) and Kyle Cordeiro (Oakville, ON), leaving Dalhousie deep in the hole after only two and a half minutes of play. Both goals were assisted by midfielder Logan Rieck (Cambridge, ON). As Dal continued to struggle, it was goalkeeper Sinclair Astridge (Victoria, BC) who stopped the bleeding, making two good saves in the 4th and 8th minutes to deny the X-Men a third goal.
As the first half wore on, the balance of power in the match began to shift as Dal found their way into the game. Both teams shored up defensively, sacrificing explosive attacking play for solidity at the back.
After the restart, it was the Tigers who routinely looked more threatening in the second half. Luke Berryman (Halifax, NS) and Kyle Routledge (Halifax, NS) both tested X-Men goalkeeper Samuel Diltz (Newmarket, ON) with strong efforts, although they ultimately came to no avail. The Tigers were eventually able to pull a goal back in second half stoppage time through Mohammed Wahdan (Daraa, Syria) but it was too little and too late on the day.
The Tigers were outshot 16-8 in today's game, with the X-Men forcing eight saves in total from Astridge while the Tigers only called Diltz into action on five occasions.
With the win, the X-Men stay undefeated this season, posting a record so far of 3 wins and 2 draws. Dal drops their second match on the bounce to fall to 1-2-3 on the year thus far.
The Tigers return to action tomorrow at 3:15 ADT against the St. Mary's Huskies, while the X-Men also play tomorrow at the same time against the Acadia Axemen.