Mt. A men’s soccer team battles UPEI in bad conditions, wins 2-0 –

Women’s team suffers two losses in weekend action.

The Mount Allison Varsity Soccer season opened this weekend with a pair of games as the Mounties took on the Acadia University Axemen on the road, before travelling to the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) on Sunday.

The men are hoping to improve on a three-win season last year which saw them ahead of only Memorial University in the Atlantic University Sport conference (AUS). It was an important matchup against Acadia, who only finished one place above Mt. A as the Mounties looked to get out of the gate with a jump.

Acadia was too strong for the Mounties this time as the men suffered a 3-1 loss. Acadia took a 1-0 lead into halftime before increasing it to two at the fifty-four minute mark. Bradley Joseph was able to answer two minutes later with a goal of his own, but the Mounties could not find that equalizing goal and Acadia eventually sealed the win with a goal at the eighty-fourth minute mark.

In Sunday’s action, against the UPEI Panthers, the men emerged victorious 2-0. Great play from keeper Greg McGuire, as well as key goals from Connor McCumber and Jeffrey Owen propelled the men to their first victory of the season.

Now in his third year with the team, Aaron Gagnon said in an interview with The Argosy that club was definitely satisfied with the performance. “Hard battle until the end. We faced wind, rain, and cold weather and still came out with the win.”

Mt. A takes on the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds (UNB) September 14th in a game at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) at 3:15pm.

The women also looked to get off to a quick start under new coach Kevin Johnson. Mt. A finished with a 5-6-2 record last season, good enough to earn the last AUS playoff spot. The Mounties fell behind to the Axemen early as Acadia scored just eleven minutes into the game and again at the forty-three minute mark. It was a scoreless second half, as the Mounties could not overcome their first half deficit.

It was a game the Mounties should have been able to win, as Acadia was lowest in last year’s standings. Keeper Robin Bessemer was a bright point for the Mounties as she stopped 7 of the 9 shots she faced. Mt. A seemed to be suffering from a few early season jitters as they struggled getting used to a new system and a new coach.

In their own match-up against the UPEI Panthers, the women lost 2-1. A late goal from the Panthers in the 88” minute allowed the Panthers to take the victory.

Look for Mt. A to make a rebound as they also take on UNB on September 14 in Fredericton at one pm.

Both teams showed elements of promise in a season that seems poised for improvement. It will be intriguing to see if the men can climb the standings and earn a playoff birth. It will be exciting to see if the women look to get back to the playoff standings.

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