HALIFAX, NS – The Acadia Axewomen lifted the AUS trophy last season and are this year’s hosts for the 2022 AUS Women’s Soccer Championship as they look to repeat on home soil. 

With just one AUS berth at the U SPORTS National Championship up for grabs, the door is open for any team to book a spot at the tournament in Quebec City, and it all comes down to a weekend in Wolfville. 

Let’s take a look at what’s to come at the AUS Women’s Soccer Championships this season. 

Women’s Soccer Championship Predictions

Ness Timmons’s crew from the Cape make the trip down to Wolfville in a promising spot. Yes, they may have dropped two matches this month, but not even the undefeated Dalhousie Tigers seem to be on their level. CBU sharpshooter Ally Rowe finished the season with 12 goals, her second AUS season with that many tallies or more. However, Dalhousie did beat CBU just under two weeks ago. In that game, the Capers scored just one of three goals Dalhousie has conceded all year. The two teams hold the quarterfinal byes while the defending champs from Acadia, the high-scoring StFX X-Women and underdogs SMU and Memorial Sea-Hawks round out the pool.

QUARTER-FINALS

Acadia 2-1 Memorial

On home turf, Acadia should be in a comfortable place against a team like MUN who’s had an up-and-down season. Most of those ups have come as of late for the Sea-Hawks, who are undefeated in their last three. That effort vaulted them into the championships. In October, they’ve beaten fellow playoff teams from X and SMU while losing by one to Acadia in September. With Acadia’s playoff experience (almost all players are returnees from last year’s nationals-bound squad) and unpredictable, well-rounded game, the Axewomen should be coming out on top. 

StFX 4-0 SMU

The two squads in this matchup have been drifting in opposite directions: X is filling the net better than any team in the conference right now, while SMU is falling on the other end of the scoreboard, having won just once in its last five. The teams last met on Oct. 19. The result? A 6-0 win for StFX, with goals from six different players. It’s the Huskies’ first time back at the championships since 2018 against a team that contends every year, coming within a goal of the title last November. The X-Women are going to give SMU all they can handle and more. 

SEMIFINALS

StFX 2-1 CBU

Acadia 1-0 Dalhousie

FINAL

StFX 2-1 Acadia 

A CBU-StFX matchup would be slated for fireworks. Both sides score a lot without sacrificing play at the other end of the pitch. The sides split their season series with a combined 4-3 scoreline in favour of X. CBU’s had a lot more of a first-year crew coming into central roles in 2022. Many of X’s veterans have been around in CBU’s shadow for the past five seasons, as the X-Women haven’t won a title since 2016. So this is a game sure to be circled on StFX’s calendar all season and the best chance they’ve had in a while of toppling CBU in the championships. This feels like the year.

Acadia and Dalhousie matched up in last year’s AUS quarterfinals, with the Axewomen emerging in extra time. They meet again at the Axewomen’s home. Dalhousiel toppled Acadia in October and is yet to lose this season. The Tigers started to score later in the season but have gone for long periods of time scoreless, which remains concerning despite their insane defensive efficiency. If that’s the case, though, Acadia may just need one to take the match. With a win, Acadia-StFX would be a rematch of last year’s championship. This time though, I believe X will return the favour and showcase their own abilities more than last year’s final when Acadia’s stars stole the show.