Four St. F.X. soccer players have been recognized as U Sports second-team All-Canadians.
Junior defender Josh Read, senior midfielder Dan Hayfield, junior midfielder Mercy Myles and senior striker Kelsey Ellis received nods.
X-Men midfielder Ayoub Al Arabi also garnered a spot on the national all-rookie squad.
Heartbreaking loss
The season for the X-Women ended in heartbreaking fashion with a razor-thin 1-0 loss to the Cape Breton Capers in the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) championship match.
The Blue and White punched their ticket to the title game with a thrilling 1-0 win over the Acadia Axewomen, in the semi-final, on the strength of an extra time penalty kick from Ellis.
Sophomore keeper Emma Kuzmyk garnered the shutout.
The X-Women opened the tournament with a 5-0 quarter-final victory over the Saint Mary’s Huskies.
A four-goal outburst, in the first 24 minutes of action, spurred St. F.X.
Ellis scored twice and Catherine Kennedy, along with fifth-year players Olivia Czipf (defender) and Elise Brennan (wing back) tallied for the winners.
Kuzmyk fashioned the clean sheet.
For the conference regular season, Myles and Ellis earned first-team all-star nods, while Czipf and Chloe Brennan (midfielder) made the second team.
OT loss
The X-Men’s push for an AUS crown ended, once again, with a semi-final loss to the UNB Reds.
Hayfield, who led the conference in regular-season scoring, gave the Blue and White 1-0 edge, at the seven-minute mark.
With only three minutes remaining in regulation time, AUS top rookie Tristan Nkoghe tallied on a free kick from just outside the 18-yard box.
Only one minute into OT, Grant Takacs gave the Reds a one-goal advantage that they would not relinquish.
The X-Men’s best opportunity to pull even in the extra session came after forward Tane Caubo was hauled down in the box. On the resulting penalty kick, UNB keeper Evan Barker stoned Hayfield.
Read and Hayfield were named first-team AUS all-stars for the regular season, while junior midfielder William Warren and forward Blake Fenton secured second-team spots.
Liam Elbourne, a fifth-year senior midfielder, received the conference’s student-athlete community service award.
