Despite a 33-29 loss against St. FX at home on Oct. 22, the Axemen could still claim the last playoff slot if they win on the road Oct. 29 against Saint Mary’s.
“It’s win or go home, that’s where we’re at. Even though it’s not the playoffs, this is a playoff game,” said head coach Jeff Cummins. “We win this one, we keep playing. We win the next one, we keep playing. As soon as we lose, we’re out. We have to win or the season’s done.”
The last time the two teams faced off was seven weeks ago – the very first game of the season – and at that meeting, Acadia walked away with the win. But, says Cummins, the team isn’t going into this over-confident.
“They’ve changed a lot of what they do, some of their personnel have changed, and our personnel have definitely changed. We’re going to try to jump back on it…but we definitely don’t have any right to walk into this game thinking we’re going to take it. We haven’t won in six weeks.”
The Oct. 22 loss was difficult, said Cummins, who called it “the best game we’ve played to date.” Acadia had the lead for the first half of the game, with the majority of St. FX’s scoring – 22 points - coming in the second half for a come-from-behind win.
“We jumped on top in the first half and we had the chance to get another chance at it if a call would’ve gone our way,” Cummins said. “We let them back in it. It’s disappointing because I think we had the opportunity to get the victory and we let it slip through our fingers.”
That was heartbreaking for the players, Cummins added.
“After the game was over, we had some guys in tears, fallen down on their knees after it was over, so I think they want it real bad,” he said. “They always want to win, they always want to compete and they always want to fight. This week will be no different, except for if we don’t win, then we’re done.”
Men’s soccer
Acadia’s men’s soccer team played to a 1-1 tie against Dalhousie Oct. 21. A free kick from Tylor Connolly 45 yards out was deflected by Zach Visser’s header to score Acadia’s only goal.
The Axemen went on to defeat the first place ranked Cape Breton Capers 2-0 Oct. 23, thanks to two goals in the second half from Travis Fenning and Andrew Snyder.
Cape Breton remains in first with an 8-2-1 record, with the Axemen trailing by two points with a 7-1-2 record and a game in hand. The Axemen will travel to Memorial University in St. John’s for two games next weekend.
Women’s soccer
It was a similar story for the soccer Axewomen last weekend – a 1-1 tie against Dalhousie Oct. 21, followed by a 1-0 win against Cape Breton Oct. 23.
Jenna Boudreau had the goal for Acadia in the Oct. 21 game, while Meghan Earle had the game winner Oct. 23 in the Cape Breton team’s first loss of the year.
Acadia’s win means they are the only undefeated team in the conference, but trail Memorial in the AUS standings. The Axewomen travel to St. John’s for two games on Oct. 28 and 29.
Men’s hockey
Acadia had a win and a loss in hockey last week, dropping a 4-1 game against Saint Mary’s Oct. 19 on the road and then defeating Moncton 7-4 Oct. 22 at home.
Acadia’s only goal against Saint Mary’s came from Marc McNalty early in the third.
It was a different story when the Axemen hit home ice, with five different Acadia players burying the puck.
Kyle Farrell and Sam Fioretti led the charge for Acadia, with two goals apiece, while Michael Clarke, Matthew Pufahl and Stephen Harper each adding single markers.
Acadia will next host Saint Mary’s Oct. 28.
Men’s basketball
It was two wins and a loss for Acadia’s men’s hoops team when Acadia hit the road for pre-season play in Sydney at the Cape Breton University Fall Classic.
The Axemen had a commanding 108-87 win over Holland College Oct. 20, with Eric Nissen adding 34 points, Nick De Palma contributing 25 points and Kyle Arsenault chipping in 24 in the winning effort.
Acadia then went on to defeat Saint Mary’s 90-88 Oct. 21, with Nissen adding 27 points and Arsenault contributing 16 points to Acadia’s scoresheet.
Acadia’s only loss came at the hands of St. FX Oct. 22, when St. FX outscored the Axemen 20-13 in the fourth quarter to break a 53-53 tie to win 73-66. Trevon Grant led the effort for Acadia, with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Ben Miller, Nissen and Arsenault all had 12 points.
Despite a 33-29 loss against St. FX at home on Oct. 22, the Axemen could still claim the last playoff slot if they win on the road Oct. 29 against Saint Mary’s.
“It’s win or go home, that’s where we’re at. Even though it’s not the playoffs, this is a playoff game,” said head coach Jeff Cummins. “We win this one, we keep playing. We win the next one, we keep playing. As soon as we lose, we’re out. We have to win or the season’s done.”
The last time the two teams faced off was seven weeks ago – the very first game of the season – and at that meeting, Acadia walked away with the win. But, says Cummins, the team isn’t going into this over-confident.
“They’ve changed a lot of what they do, some of their personnel have changed, and our personnel have definitely changed. We’re going to try to jump back on it…but we definitely don’t have any right to walk into this game thinking we’re going to take it. We haven’t won in six weeks.”
The Oct. 22 loss was difficult, said Cummins, who called it “the best game we’ve played to date.” Acadia had the lead for the first half of the game, with the majority of St. FX’s scoring – 22 points - coming in the second half for a come-from-behind win.
“We jumped on top in the first half and we had the chance to get another chance at it if a call would’ve gone our way,” Cummins said. “We let them back in it. It’s disappointing because I think we had the opportunity to get the victory and we let it slip through our fingers.”
That was heartbreaking for the players, Cummins added.
“After the game was over, we had some guys in tears, fallen down on their knees after it was over, so I think they want it real bad,” he said. “They always want to win, they always want to compete and they always want to fight. This week will be no different, except for if we don’t win, then we’re done.”
Men’s soccer
Acadia’s men’s soccer team played to a 1-1 tie against Dalhousie Oct. 21. A free kick from Tylor Connolly 45 yards out was deflected by Zach Visser’s header to score Acadia’s only goal.
The Axemen went on to defeat the first place ranked Cape Breton Capers 2-0 Oct. 23, thanks to two goals in the second half from Travis Fenning and Andrew Snyder.
Cape Breton remains in first with an 8-2-1 record, with the Axemen trailing by two points with a 7-1-2 record and a game in hand. The Axemen will travel to Memorial University in St. John’s for two games next weekend.
Women’s soccer
It was a similar story for the soccer Axewomen last weekend – a 1-1 tie against Dalhousie Oct. 21, followed by a 1-0 win against Cape Breton Oct. 23.
Jenna Boudreau had the goal for Acadia in the Oct. 21 game, while Meghan Earle had the game winner Oct. 23 in the Cape Breton team’s first loss of the year.
Acadia’s win means they are the only undefeated team in the conference, but trail Memorial in the AUS standings. The Axewomen travel to St. John’s for two games on Oct. 28 and 29.
Men’s hockey
Acadia had a win and a loss in hockey last week, dropping a 4-1 game against Saint Mary’s Oct. 19 on the road and then defeating Moncton 7-4 Oct. 22 at home.
Acadia’s only goal against Saint Mary’s came from Marc McNalty early in the third.
It was a different story when the Axemen hit home ice, with five different Acadia players burying the puck.
Kyle Farrell and Sam Fioretti led the charge for Acadia, with two goals apiece, while Michael Clarke, Matthew Pufahl and Stephen Harper each adding single markers.
Acadia will next host Saint Mary’s Oct. 28.
Men’s basketball
It was two wins and a loss for Acadia’s men’s hoops team when Acadia hit the road for pre-season play in Sydney at the Cape Breton University Fall Classic.
The Axemen had a commanding 108-87 win over Holland College Oct. 20, with Eric Nissen adding 34 points, Nick De Palma contributing 25 points and Kyle Arsenault chipping in 24 in the winning effort.
Acadia then went on to defeat Saint Mary’s 90-88 Oct. 21, with Nissen adding 27 points and Arsenault contributing 16 points to Acadia’s scoresheet.
Acadia’s only loss came at the hands of St. FX Oct. 22, when St. FX outscored the Axemen 20-13 in the fourth quarter to break a 53-53 tie to win 73-66. Trevon Grant led the effort for Acadia, with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Ben Miller, Nissen and Arsenault all had 12 points.
