(FREDERICTON, NB) A goal in extra time lifted the U SPORTS No. 4 Cape Breton Capers into a 1-1 draw with the UNB Reds on Friday.
MacKenna King (Barrie, ON) headed in a crossing pass just after the 90th minute mark to tie the score.
"I saw Rachel Leck going up the side, and I saw open space in the middle. She played it in and I knocked it in from there," said King.
In the opening minutes, the Reds put all kinds of pressure on Capers keeper Rachel Yerxa (Mississauga, ON).
Madison Goertz (Saskatoon, SK) and Danika Lefebvre (Fredericton, NB) both had good scoring opportunities.
That sustained pressure resulted in a number of corner kicks and, ultimately, a Capers hand ball inside the 18-yard box. Sylvie Fecteau (Moncton, NB) scored easily on the ensuing penalty kick, in the 16th minute, giving the home side an early 1-0 lead.
In the 22nd minute, the Capers appeared to have scored an equalizer, but another hand ball call negated the scoring play.
In the 42nd minute, Fecteau had a chance to add to UNB's lead, hammering a hard shot from just outside the box, but Cape Breton's Fatou Ndiaye (Pierrefonds, QC) stepped in front of the shot, deflecting it off course.
UNB fashioned another scoring opportunity with about ten minutes to play, but Yerxa rose to the challenge again, setting the stage for King's heroics.
"That definitely feels like a loss," said Fecteau, named the Subway Player of the Game. "I felt like we were in it the whole game, but this is just getting us ready for the playoffs. It was a really good game and I'm really proud of our team's performance."
"That's a playoff game tonight. It had a playoff feel to it," said Reds head coach Jon Crossland.
While he would've liked to have seen his team take three points, he says the game came at a perfect time.
"That team is big, they're physical, they're technical, they're all the pieces," said Crossland. "So, to be up against one of the best teams going into the playoffs is great preparation."
The Capers, now 8-2-1, finish the regular season on Saturday, visiting Moncton for a 3:00pm start.
The Reds finish with a 6-4-2 record, and await the final seedings for the Subway AUS Championship, which starts Thursday, at Cape Breton.
RECAP BY: Andy Campbell/UNB Athletics
PHOTOS BY: James West/for UNB Athletics