Tommies soccer teams struggle to beat Crandall Chargers’ tough defence

Tommies midfielder Avery Scott throws the ball into play at Grant-Harvey Turf. (Josh Eidt/AQ)

 On Sunday, Sept. 28, the STU soccer men’s and women’s teams played Crandall at home.

The STU women beat Crandall 1-0, while the men tied 0-0.

Both games would have been goalless ties if it weren’t for centre back Ella Mercer’s goal in the 36th minute.

“It was a battle today. [Scoring that goal] gave us the momentum to finish it strong,” said Mercer.

The Tommies women didn’t give Crandall the chance to register a single shot on target all

game. Mercer’s strong defence and game-winning goal earned her the player of the game award.

“It felt really good,” said Mercer.

Women’s team coach David Itoafa was happy with the team’s defence, but conceded that the offence needs work.

“The backline has been really good. Defence has been a really big focus since preseason and you can really see that we’re strong defensively. We need to continue working on our ability to create [goal scoring opportunities,]” said Itoafa.

Despite the scrappy win, Itoafa is happy. “A win’s a win. A win in this league goes a long way.”

After the game last weekend, the STU women find themselves in third place with 13 points in the Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association.

Despite the tie the men’s game was a similar story to the women’s game. 

The men’s team dominated possession with 19 shots on goal, spending the vast majority of the game in Crandall’s half. However, they couldn’t manage to get themselves on the scoresheet.

“They were content just to have everyone behind the ball, clogging up the box,” said Miles Pinsent, men’s coach for the Tommies. 

The last time the Tommies played Crandall, they beat the Chargers 4-0.

“I guess considering the 4-0 previous result, that [Crandall’s coach] wants to play very defensively. Ultimately, I'm not sure if that's going to secure him points that will get his team into the playoffs or not,” said Pinsent.

Samuel Choinière, captain of the men’s soccer team, said the team played well and that Crandall put up a good defence.

“Overall, we had a good game. Their play was very defensive. We had to adapt to their play. I  think we adapted well. Credit to them, they were doing a great job defending," said Choinière.

Even so, he said that the game could have been a little more competitive on Crandall’s behalf.

“Maybe they should play with a little more intensity, a little more desire to go get that goal. They were happy [with the result]. We’re coming to every game to win," he said.

Both men’s and women’s teams will meet Dalhousie and Holland College away on the weekend of Oct. 4.  . 

The last time the men’s team met Holland and Dalhousie, the games ended in 5-0 and 6-0 wins for STU, respectively. The STU women beat Dalhousie 3-0 but lost to Holland 0-3.

Coach Pinsent is looking ahead to their rematches with Holland and Dalhousie with the experience of this past weekend’s battle with Crandall.

“At the midway point of the season, all the teams have kind of figured out who they are and what they need to do. I think we are starting to see with some of our opposition [that] they are trying to play a pretty defensive style. So, we've just got to continue to work on ways of trying to break down those teams that want to sit in that low block and get ourselves good chances around the goal,” said Pinsent.

After the game against Crandall, the men’s team found themselves in second place with 13 points behind the UKC Blue Devils in the ACAA league standings.