X-Men, Tigers battle to scoreless tie in AUS soccer action

The StFX X-Men and Dalhousie Tigers battled to a scoreless tie in AUS soccer action Friday night in Antigonish.
               
It was the home opener for the blue and white on the turf at Oland Stadium. The same two teams met last Friday in Halifax where the X-Men came away with a close 1-0 win.
               
“We played hard and defended well,” Ryan Casey, X-Men fifth-year defender, said in a post-game interview on the StFX X Varsity Club webcast. The Charlottetown, PEI, native noted the X-Men had several scoring chances.
               
Dalhousie defenders cleared two balls off the goal line during the match, which drew a boisterous opening night crowd.
               
Another glorious opportunity came when second-year defender Randy Ribeiro broke away from two Tigers’ defenders before beating goal keeper Jason Ross, but his left-footed shot rolled by the far goal post.
               
The best scoring for the Tigers came in the 65th minute when Sam Karklins hit the outside of the goal post. The fifth-year striker had little room to work with after X-Men goalkeeper Andrew MacDonald, who recorded his second shutout in as many games, came out to cut down the angle.
                |
Ross notched the shutout for the Tigers.
               
Second-year midfielder Martin Vlk was X-Men player of the game, with striker Tyler Lewars getting the nod for the Tigers.
               
With the tie, the X-Men improve to 1-0-1, while the Tigers are 0-2-1.
               
The blue and white return to action Sunday when they visit Halifax to face the defending conference champion Saint Mary’s Huskies.
               
Game time is 3:15 p.m. in Halifax.