Capers return to home turf this weekend

 Sydney – After hitting the road for the past three weeks, the Cape Breton University (CBU) Capers women and men will return to home turf this weekend in Atlantic University Sports (AUS) soccer action.

The Capers will welcome the UPEI Panthers to Ness Timmons Field on Friday, with the women kicking off at 5 p.m., while the men's sides will take the pitch at 7:15 p.m.

The UPEI women come into the contest with a 2-3-2 record, while the Panthers men have a 1-1-3 mark.

On Saturday, the Mount Allison Mounties will visit the Sydney campus, with the women's and men's matches scheduled for 5 and 7:15 p.m., respectively.

Both Mount Allison teams occupy last place in the conference.

The CBU women, with a 5-1-0 record, are third in the AUS standings. They have won three straight games after their lone loss – a 3-1 decision to the rival STFX X-Women – while outscoring their opponents 11-0.  

The Capers are coming off convincing road victories over the Acadia Axewomen (3-0) and Saint Mary's Huskies (4-0), with junior forward Ally Rowe (Kitchener, ON) notching a sensational six goals over the two-game span, including four versus the Maroon and White on Sunday afternoon.

Rowe, the 2022 AUS most valuable player and first-team all-star – along with first-team All-Canadian, leads the conference with 11 goals, which places her in a second-place tie in the USPORTS race.

Midfielder Grace Hannaford (Enfield, NS), with five markers, and freshman forward Leah Disipio (Ottawa, ON), with three, have also been significant contributors to CBU's offensive attack.

On the defensive side, the Capers have surrendered only six goals in six matches, with three of those coming in the setback to the X-Women. Freshman keeper Ellie Lancaster (Fall River, NS) has posted a stellar 4-1 record, including three shutouts.

On the men's side, CBU leads the loop with a 5-0-1 record. After rattling off five straight victories to start the AUS regular season, a stoppage time goal by Ben Kloppenburg gave the Saint Mary's a 1-1 tie with the Capers on Sunday afternoon.

Junior forward Owen Sheppard (St. John's NL), with four, and third-year midfielder Zé Cunha (Cascais, Portugal), with three, top the Capers in scoring, while freshman forward Amadou Bayo (Montreal, QC) has tallied twice in six matches. That trio leads a balanced scoring punch that has notched an AUS-best 16 goals. 

Junior keeper Daniel Clarke (Milton Keynes, England) a 2022 AUS first-team all-star, has been rock solid – posting a 4-0-1 mark, including one shutout.

The Capers, with five, have allowed the fewest goals in the conference.

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