Axemen fall short in 1-0 loss to Huskies

HALIFAX, NS – Saint Mary's forward Sean Freeman (Halifax, NS), scored the game-winning goal in the 53rd minute to lead the Huskies to a 1-0 win over the Acadia Axemen on Sunday afternoon at Huskies Stadium in Halifax. 

The game was part of Huskies homecoming weekend and played in front of 356 fans, including several Huskies soccer alumni who gathered for a pre-game reunion. 

The first half was a defensive battle, with each team recording three shots on goal, but neither scoring. Huskies captain and midfielder Cian Tousignant-Osiadhail (Timberlea, NS) was given a yellow card early in the first half, his third of the season, which will be an automatic one game suspension. 

Early in the second half, it was the Axemen captain, midfielder Joe Iatrou (Timberlea, NS) who picked up a yellow card. 

Off a set piece in the 53rd minute, defender Woody Bain delivered a cross into the box that somehow found its way through the first wave of traffic and directly onto the foot of Sean Freeman, who drilled it into the left corner to put the home team up 1-0. 

Over the final 30 minutes, Acadia pressed for an equalizer, but the Huskies defence stood tall, with some great play by centrebacks Orion Wiersma (Barrie, ON) and Cameron Zinn (Bridgewater, NS) stifling the Axemen attack. 

Sean Freeman was named Subway Player of the Game. The second year leads the conference with eight goals on the campaign. Sunday marked his fifth game-winning-goal of the season, also leading the league. 

Huskies goalkeeper Ryan Davis (Lake Loon, NS) recorded six saves for his second clean sheet of the season, while Axemen goalkeeper Dylan Legere (Upper Tantallon, NS) also made six saves on the afternoon. 

The Huskies win improved their record to 6-2-1 on the season, good for third place in the AUS standings. They'll be back on home turf on Wednesday night as they host the St. FX X-Men at 7:15 p.m. 

The Axemen loss dropped their record to 0-6-3 on the campaign. They'll be back in action next Friday, Oct. 21 at 7:15 p.m. as they host the Moncton Aigles Bleus at Raymond Field. 

Recap by Allan April / SMU Huskies Athletics 
Photos by Nick Pearce / SMU Huskies Athletics