WOLFVILLE, N.S. – The visiting Memorial Sea-Hawks improve their regular season record to 8-2-0 with a 2-0 win over the Acadia Axewomen.
Holly O'Neill's goal in the 21st minute of regulation time was the eventual game-winner as the Se-Hawks held on to the lead until the closing minutes of the game.
O'Neill's goal came off of a rebound by Axewomen keeper Milena Ramirez who made the initial save from a kick from the top corner of the 18-yard box by a Sea-Hawk
A tight defensive game followed in the opening half and into the second half with Acadia edging Memorial with a 6-5 shots on goal advantage, but Ramirez was tested several times.
Sarah Jones scored the insurance goal at the 87th minute to give the Sea-Hawks a 2-0 lead in the closing minutes. Jones received a through ball that gave her a wide-open alley to the net to score low on the corner on Ramirez.
"They are a really well-organized team, so they did a great job. It's been hard to score on them for a lot of teams all year like it's been hard to score on us. They did a great job and we had our chances, but we could have created more as well. Part of that is taking the risk to take players on," said Axewomen head coach Amit Batra.
"Every loss is a setback. It's such a tight league. It's not life or death, It's a highly competitive league where games can go either way," added Batra.
The score may have shown a dominant Sea-Hawk win, but both teams played a tight game that was more reflected in the shots on net and shots.
"We kept a lot of possession at times. If you are watching the game from the outside and not knowing the score, I think we did a good job, but I don't think we did enough to break down an organized team and they are really excellent at that," concluded Batra.
The Axewomen close the regular season this coming Friday at home against the visiting UPEI Panthers. Acadia drops to 6-3-2, clinching a playoff spot with last week's win against StFX. Memorial hosts Moncton next Friday and Saturday to conclude the regular season.