HALIFAX, NS – Acadia midfielder Grace Longley scored two first half goals to lead the Axewomen to a 5-0 win over the Saint Mary's Huskies on Sunday afternoon at Huskies Stadium in Halifax.
The game was part of Huskies homecoming weekend and played in front of 472 fans, including several Huskies soccer alumni who gathered for a pre-game reunion.
The Axewomen would strike first in the 18th minute, as a corner kick from winger Meghan Johnston (Dartmouth, NS), found the head of midfielder Grace Longley (Bedford, NS), who directed it into the corner of the goal to give Acadia a 1-0 lead.
Just under two minutes later Longley would score another, as strike Jayden Boudreau (Halifax, NS) played a nice through ball to a charging Longley, who made no mistake on the shot to extend the Axewomen lead to 2-0.
In the 33rd minute, the visitors extended their lead when a Johnston cross found Mya Harnish (Halifax, NS) on the other side of the Huskies goal. Harnish fired a shot that was stopped by her teammate Abigail Aucoin (Dartmouth, NS), who turned and fired it past Morrison to put Acadia up 3-0.
Saint Mary's made several substitutions to begin the second half, bringing on an all new attacking group of first years Fiona Davidson (Hatchet Lake, NS), Lindy Brunelle (Keswick, ON), Isabel Goncalves (Wellington, NS) and Charlotte Baines (Halifax, NS).
The visitors added another goal in the 38th minute when Mya Harnish fired a bouncing ball towards the Huskies net that took an awkward bounce and beat Morrison to make the score 4-0.
Acadia's fifth and final goal would come in the 88th minute, after winger Ali Kelly (Halifax, NS) had a shot blocked in the box, striker Rosie Nichols (Toronto, ON) pounced on the rebound and fired a high shot past Morrison to put the visitors up 5-0.
Axewomen goalkeeper Milena Ramirez (New Minas, NS) recorded eight saves for the clean sheet, while Huskies goalkeeper Grace Morrison (Halifax, NS) made 10 saves on the afternoon.
Grace Longley was named Subway Player of the Game with two goals, giving her six goals and 10 points on the season, both ranking second place in the conference.
The Axewomen win improved their record to 6-2-1 on the season, good for third place in the AUS standings. They'll be back in action next Friday, Oct. 21 at 5 p.m. as they host the Moncton Aigles Bleus at Raymond Field.
The Huskies loss dropped their record to 4-3-2 on the campaign. They'll be back on home turf on Wednesday night as they host the St. FX X-Women at 5 p.m.
Recap by Allan April / SMU Huskies Athletics
Photos by Nick Pearce / SMU Huskies Athletics