Men’s soccer fourth in AUS

Dal attains four of six weekend points

Tigers rookie Phillip Parsons conceals the ball from St. FX’s Andrew MacDonalnd. Photo by Alice Hebb

The St. FX X-Men entered the Saturday, Oct. 15 game against the Tigers men’s soccer team undefeated and they left the match with the same label, escaping Wickwire Field with a 2 – 2 draw.

Dalhousie, however, had their struggles in the eventual tie. Even with the continued loss of their still-injured captain Kerry Weymann and a red card granted in this game to Tyler Lewars, Dal still managed to keep up with the X-Men, rallying from a one-goal deficit twice in the match to even the score.

“We played one of the best teams in the country, but we were looking forward to it,” said Wes Hawley, responsible for Dal’s first goal. The midfielder has been playing defence in Weymann’s absence.

St. FX opened the scoring in the second half with an unassisted goal by A.J. Gray. It took Dal some time to come back and with some perceived help from the strong winds that rocked Wickwire, Hawley scored his first goal of the season to even the game at 1 – 1 in the 62nd minute.

St. FX’s Michael Marousek broke the tie with just nine minutes remaining in the second half. With the clock winding down, shoves and pushes became less discrete and players were routinely knocked to the ground. Julian Perrotta, who was removed from the game with a minor ankle injury, returned to the match and the Tigers are glad he did; he scored the game tying goal four minutes after Marousek.

“We battled back, showed a lot of character, and got it up 2 – 2. We’re happy with the result,” Hawley said.

Along with Perrotta, Tigers Jordan Mannix (ankle) and James Nearing (shoulder) all suffered minor injuries in the game. They would return to face Acadia on Oct. 16.

In that contest, the Tigers fended off a winless Acadia squad 2 – 1. A pair of rookies got Dal on the board, courtesy of Bezick Evraire finding the net in the 8th minute and Aaron Hoyle 59 minutes in. The game would have been a shutout if Acadia’s Jarret Bent didn’t solve Ben Ur during stoppage time.

The Tigers, 4 – 3 – 2, are tied for fourth in the circuit with Saint Mary’s. The two squads each have 14 points.

The men’s soccer team are among the attractions during Dal’s homecoming weekend. They welcome Saint Mary’s on Friday, Oct. 21 at 7:15 p.m. as both squads fight to leap over the other in the AUS standings. Memorial visits the Tigers’ home pitch on Sunday, Oct. 23 at 3:15 p.m.