Sports Briefs: Week of October 12, 2012

Dalhousie's football team returns home Oct. 13 for their final contest this season at Wickwire Field. (Pau Balite photo)

Football narrowly drops road decision

The Dalhousie Football Club will determine their playoff fate on the road.

A narrow 28-24 defeat at the hands of the Holland College Hurricanes in Charlottetown on Oct. 6 will relegate the Tigers to a playoff run away from Wickwire Field. The Hurricanes and their 3-1 record joined the undefeated UNB Fredericton Red Bombers over the weekend as the two squads compete to earn home-field advantage in the four-team circuit.

All AFL teams automatically earn a playoff berth.

Losing out on at least one extra home game may not be the worst outcome for the 1-3 Tigers, which are winless in their two home matches this season. Dal’s only triumph came on the road against the UNB Saint John Seawolves.

The Tigers nearly scored their second victory of the season on Saturday, racing to a 15-7 edge in the opening quarter after two touchdown passes from Brendan Festeryga. A touchback and a series of safeties put the Hurricanes up 19-16 at halftime.

Although Dal would not earn another lead, they made it close. Tigers wide receiver Darko Stasevic pulled their deficit to within three points on a touchdown that made the score 26-23.

Dal has two games left in the regular season. This weekend, their final home game, is opposite the Seawolves, the only squad Dal has beaten thus far. Game time is 6 p.m.

Depleted roster score respectable runs

Dal’s cross-country teams have their eye on the prize—the conference race on Oct. 27.

Opting to rest most of their roster ahead of this weekend’s interlock at UNB, the Tigers brought a diminished crew to Acadia on Oct. 6 and performed respectfully considering the circumstances.

On the women’s side, fifth-year Holly Van Gestel was only 10 seconds off the pace, finishing in second place behind UNB’s Frida Aspnaes. Anna Von Maltzahn and Britany MacArthur rounded out the top 10 for the Tigers, crossing the line in eighth and tenth, respectively.

The men’s team, on the other hand, kept a majority of their stars at home. David Burlock, Dante Manchester were the top finishers for the black and gold, running to 15th and 16th place finishes. Fifth-year Mike Weersink came in 27th.

Dal did not have enough runners to be considered for the team scores.

The Tigers’ only race on home soil this season, the AUS championship, is quickly approaching. Dal’s women will try to defend their crowd, while the men will attempt to retain top spot Oct. 27 at Point Pleasant Park. The first race is at noon.

Exhibition woes

Thankfully, these games don’t matter.

Tigers athletes on three teams embroiled in training camp found themselves on the losing end of their exhibition matches this past weekend.

Dal’s men’s hockey team was dropped 2-0 to the Saint Mary’s Huskies, ending their preseason schedule with an 0-2 record. The Tigers will quickly transition to regular season play this weekend in what will be the start of a new era: playing at the Halifax Forum. They’ll face Saint Mary’s on Saturday, Oct. 12, where they are now sharing home ice at the Forum, then welcome Acadia the next day.

In other exhibition action, two Canada West teams overwhelmed the black and gold. Dal’s women’s basketball team was knocked aside 79-66 to the University of Calgary and men’s volleyball fell twice to the University of Manitoba.