Saturday, November 7, 2009
Semi-final # 2 took place in your typical North Atlantic winter storm. Slashing winds and waves of snow engulfed the pitch, but Cape Breton and UPEI did not seem to overly mind, and went to battle from the get go. A tremendously well organized defense from the Panthers kept the Capers at bay for the first half.
They did a remarkable job of making an enormous 120 by 80 yard pitch feel as small as a shoebox for the Capers. At times the Panthers strikers were playing so deep they could have been mistaken for holding midfielders, but nevertheless their defend-at-all-costs mentality successfully frustrated the 4-time defending champions, and the Panthers managed to get to the half time whistle without conceding.
With Mother Nature always going to be the most dominant presence in the game, the Panthers gladly accepted her backing in the 2nd half and started to do some attacking of their own. Jenn MacLeod broke the deadlock in the 65th minute as she got onto the end of a clever through ball and produced a cute little finish, tucking the ball under the Capers keeper. The shocked CBU side went broke in search of an equalizer and the Panthers became just the 2nd team in 7 seasons to defeat the Capers in an AUS playoff game.
The win must go down as a classic PEI style triumph, a truly brilliant defensive masterpiece that the Italians would be proud of. The Panthers now advance to Sunday’s championship final where they will face the beaming St. FX X-Women with the conference title and a trip to the nationals on the line.
Department of Athletics