Late heroics, heartbreak for V-Reds soccer squads

Better late than never?

That depends on which University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds soccer coach you ask.

For Miles Pinsent and the men's soccer squad? Absolutely. Striker Galen Smith's (Fredericton, NB) header of a Jean-Claude Campeau (Winnipeg, MB) cross in the 86th minute Saturday afternoon at Chapman Field was enough to lift the V-Reds to a 1-0 victory over the University of Prince Edward Island Panthers and into a playoff spot in the Atlantic University Sport Men's Soccer Conference.

For Andy Cameron and the women's soccer squad? Not so much,

Midfielder Sara Stewart's wind blown free kick in the 88th minute doomed the playoff hopes of the V-Reds women's team, who finish the regular season schedule with a 4-7-2 mark and will miss the AUS playoffs for the fourth straight season.

"It was positive to get into the last weekend going for a playoff spot," said Cameron. "We talked as a team about improving each and every week and I think we did that from Thanksgiving weekend on. So there are a lot of positives to take into next season."

The V-Reds opted to open with the swirling 31-kilometre an hour west wind at their backs, hoping to use it to their advantage. But UPEI goaltender Chanelle Roy -- ironically enough, a Bathurst native -- made a couple of big saves, most notably a diving stop on midfielder Gabrielle Doucette's straight on shot from about 30 yards out in the 43rd minute.

"All year, we chose to take the wind," said Cameron. "We wanted to get the jump, get into the game and get confident. We felt that was the most important thing for us going into the game today."

Instead, it was the UPEI squad -- which completed an unbeaten regular season with the win, incidentally, with a 10-0-3 mark -- had the territorial advantage in the first half, but UNB rookie keeper Erica Ermen (Moncton, NB) proved equal to the task, keeping things scoreless. In the dying minutes of the game, Stewart was granted the free kick and arced it high over the defensive wall from the left, beating Ermen.

"Every shot was hard today with the wind," said the rookie. "I found it very hard to judge. With the wind, there was an extra little lift to the ball. It was just a lucky strike for her and an unlucky strike for us."

Still, Ermen believes there are better days ahead for the women's soccer program, which cut seven goals off its' goals against total from a year ago, reducing it from 29 to 22 with the rookie in the net, and scored three more goals.

Defenders Sacha Demers (Hanwell, NB) of Fredericton, Lisa Nabuurs (Cardigan, PEI) of Cardigan, PEI and Wanda Luinenburg (Netherlands)urg, an exchange student from Holland, all graduate, and must be replaced, "but I think this year there was a very big improvement and the girls are coming together nice and I think next year is going to be very good for us," said Ermen.

Next week could be very good for the V-Reds men's side, having earned a trip to Moncton and the AUS tournament once and for all. V-Reds carried the majority of the play against a pesky PEI squad, but it wasn't until the striker Smith -- pulled off the pitch in the 73rd minute and reinserted in the 81st -- headed Campeau's cross from the left off the centre back and past PEI keeper Dave Feener in the 86th that the large crowd at Chapman Field could exhale.

For Smith, who came back for a fifth and final season of eligibility, his late goal made his return to school worthwhile.

"It wouldn't have been worth it if we didn't make the playoffs, so this is exactly why I came back," said Smith, whose third goal of the season proved his biggest.

"It was a big day today, and we played hard," said Smith. "These are hard won points. It felt nice."

While he didn't look happy when he was pulled from the pitch, he said he didn't disagree with the move or the strategy.

"Will Allen is a heck of a striker," he said. "It was just to give me a bit of a rest and give them a different look at what's coming up. It was good strategy really. I was frustrated, but in no way do I argue with the idea. It was a good decision. And then I got the space when I got back on."

Smith believes now that the V-Reds are in the playoffs, "we can go deep. We have an excellent young goalie (Aaron McMurray) and we play hard-nosed soccer. We play really physical and hard, and that's a playoff style."

"Galen gives us good size up there, but we wanted to get a pure runner up there just to see if we could stretch their back line a little bit," Pinsent explained. "When we switched our formation, we went with an extra guy up front. That called for Galen to go back in and we had the designated runner off him."

V-Reds finish the schedule with a 6-5-2 record, which places them fifth in the final standings. They scored 11 goals and surrendered nine.

"Here's the thing," said Pinsent. "We've been in every single game with a chance to win it. That says a lot. If we look on paper...in our first team meeting this season, I asked anyone in the room who was a CIS all-star to raise their hand. Not a hand went up. I said 'Who's an AUS all-star?' Not a hand went up. So I said "We know who we are.' It was going to be us working hard and getting better as the season went on. We've done that. It's a tight league, and we're in it with a chance to win."

The top five finishers, plus the AUS tournament host, qualify. The UNB women finished sixth and were bumped from the playoff picture by host Acadia.