ANTIGONISH, N.S. — [Editor's note: The X-Women defeated Moncton 2-0 Oct. 10.]
The young St. F.X. X-Women are readying for a playoff run in Atlantic University Sport (AUS) soccer action.
“I wouldn’t say we are playing great soccer, but we are playing winning soccer,” head coach Graham Kennedy said.
The head coach made that comment one day before a road match against the Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus (results not available at press time), with the X-Women sporting a 5-0-3 regular season record.
Considering there are so many new players on the roster, he noted, it has taken a while to get everyone “moving in the same direction.”
Kennedy added, over the past couple weeks, the X-Women have been playing “really good soccer,” as they have settled on a formation that “best suits our personnel.”
“We are pleased with the direction we are moving in. We are going to get better and better moving forward,” he said.
Kennedy said the keys to playing “winning soccer,” thus far, include several new players providing “quality minutes.”
Noting the “very good goalkeeping” the X-Women have received, he added, they are hard to score on.
“We are hard to beat which is something I really like,” Kennedy said.
Heading down the stretch
The X-Women will wrap up the regular season with matches against top opponents, including road trips to face the nationally-ranked Cape Breton University Capers (Oct. 18) and Acadia Axewomen (Oct. 25), along with a home-field battle with the Memorial University Sea-Hawks (Oct. 20).
“We are going to see what we are made of,” Kennedy said.
When asked about keys to success in the playoffs, Kennedy talked about being “really confident in tight games,” particularly for freshmen players who have not experienced the AUS post-season.
“Our small group of veterans are going to have to show great leadership and play well,” he noted.
Kennedy said that performance will have to be coupled with newcomers “stepping up.”
“We are going to have to put that together and play composed soccer,” he added.
