STELLAR WEEKEND AS CAPERS ACADEMY GO 8 GAMES UNBEATEN
CAPERS Academy made the island fields a fortress at the weekend as four of the teams played NSSL double-headers and emerged with six wins and two ties.
In the U13AA Girls bracket Head Coach Deano Morley's side edged South Shore United 1-0 on Saturday in the CBU Dome with another strike from Evelyn Power who has raised her tally for the season to six goals and remains the league's joint top goalscorer.
On the Sunday the CAPERS fell behind to their rivals but fought back and Avery Kelloway's looping shot arched home to a secure a point in an excellent match-up.
The U13AA Boys had suffered through a tough weekend against top HRM sides Suburban Black and UDFC in their NSSL debut but they bounced back with a double-header six-point weekend against South Shore.
In Game One on Saturday the boys fell behind and could have crumbled but showed real courage and passing class to secure a terrific equaliser through Northside Storm product Connor MacDonald.
CAPERS then sealed the win through striker Ibrahim Adekunle before giving a glimpse of their forward planning in Sunday's Game Two. Brady MacKinnon, a 2014-born midfielder playing in a league dominated by 2012 born players, linked superbly with midfielder Sam Borden before securing a 1-0 triumph with a curling shot into the far corner.
The rest of the weekend NSSL action was at New Waterford's MacKinnon Field where Head Coach Mitch Hanna's U17AAA Girls secured wins by 4-1 and then 4-0 over Inter Halifax's U16AAA side.
In Game One Canada Games squad alternate Alyse Tierney raised her season's goal tally to four with a double with left-back Mattea MacKinnon and in-form midfielder Brooklyn Wasson also on target.
The Sunday match saw the CAPERS shut their rivals out this time and score another four-goal haul with dangerous defender MacKinnon (2), striker Charley Sawlor and Wasson again on target.
It was a weekend that also saw a special debut for the U18AA Girls squad that is guided by current CBU CAPERS player Elle MacDougall and CAPERS Academy alumni Ayanna MacNeil and Erica Boone.
The Academy are particularly proud of this coaching team as they are the product of a concerted effort to increase the amount of female soccer coaches on the island and are all studying for their CONCACAF C Licence.
And they got off to an excellent start with a 0-0 tie in Game One against Halifax Hotspurs in NW before they crafted a 2-0 win on Sunday through goes from Claire Connors and Maggie Williams.
This season the new-look CAPERS Academy are for the first time fielding six teams at Tier One in the NSSL backed up by the U18AA Girls. Right now the 13s Girls and the 17s Girls sit in play-off positions in the early-season rankings.
Regional Director of Soccer Development Iain King said: "It was a terrific weekend for the Academy sides, the development of both 13s sides is very heartening and the future of he club is looking so bright there.
"The 17s Girls have been standard bearers for the Academy over the last three years and are now a real force in their league even without our Canada Games players Sadie Delorey and Ava MacDonald.
"I feel the U18AA Girls coaching crew are one of the great soccer stories this island can be proud of. Three female coaches steeped in the game who are breaking down barriers to forge a positive future for our attempts to encourage more women to stay in the game and guide the next generation."
* OUR picture shows Saturday's U13AA Boys Player of the Match Sam Borden with his award. Sam, who was reared as a player at Whitney Pier, had the perfect weekend. His CAPERS team won six points and as a massive Liverpool fan he saw his heroes lift the English Premiership trophy.
