Men’s soccer start season undefeated

Men’s soccer starting lineup is revealed at their home opener Sept. 7. (Chris Parent photo)

The Dalhousie men’s soccer team tallied four of six possible points in their opening weekend of AUS action.

Coming off a 4-2 victory over the reigning AUS winning Cape Breton Capers on Saturday, the Tigers managed to pull off a tie against the University of Moncton Aigles Bleus.

Dal head coach Pat Nearing attributed the change of play between the two days to problems getting started offensively.

“We needed to space the field out a bit more,” he says. “We seemed to drop off that a bit today.”

Both sides had fairly equal opportunities throughout the rainy Sunday match. Moncton edged Dal in shots on goal 10-8, with Bezick Evraire leading the Tigers with five shots.

The best chance of the game came from the Tigers in the dying seconds. Evraire was given three corner kicks in a row but the Blue Eagles were effective in getting bodies in front of the net and clearing the ball to the midfield.

The missed opportunities ignited an uproar from Tigers players because they thought there was a missed handball call on a Blue Eagles player in the box. When the final whistle blew, Moncton was elated with the tie and Dal certainly was not.

The Tigers look to continue their point streak this weekend when they take on the Saint Mary’s Huskies on Sept. 14 and the Mount Allison Mounites the following day. Dal’s cross-town rival was victorious in both games over Memorial, beating them 1-0 on both occasions. The Mounites split their weekend and sit with a 1-1 record.

Nearing feels his team is prepared for the weekend ahead, but remains even-keel with his expectations.

“I think we need to change a few aspects of our game,” he says. “But I’m not unhappy with the way things are going so far.”