A first look at your 2024 CAPERS men’s soccer team during pre-season action

A first look at your 2024 CAPERS men's soccer team during pre-season action

Saint Mary's 1 Cape Breton 3

By IAIN KING

2023 U SPORTS champions CAPERS eased into the new season on the road in Halifax with an exciting exhibition win over their Huskies hosts on Wednesday afternoon.

Head Coach Deano Morley was able to field almost two completely different sides in each half of this 2024 opener with goalkeeper Daniel Clarke the only constant in the two line-ups.

The first half was dictated by the CAPERS midfield unit anchored by new French signing Lilian Benjamin on his debut alongside national title winners Cameron Kilbride, Mateo Goldsztein and Kieran Maddock.

After the Huskies missed an early penalty through Drew Chisholm, that creative force set the tempo, and it was the visitors who surged ahead in the 25^th minute as inventive work from Englishman Kilbride saw Goldsztein feed a clever ball into the path of Nikolai Scheurenbrand for the German striker to arrow a 20-yard strike into the far corner.

The goal was a fitting reward for an outstanding display from second-year CAPER Scheurenbrand who has returned to the island looking lean, hungry and in the mood to add to the U SPORTS Championship medal he won in his rookie season in island colours.

Coach Morley had the rare luxury of changing his entire outfield line-up for the second-half and the direction of traffic continued to be towards the Huskies goal as Day Four of the pre-season program brought many promising signs.

New capture Nickolas Shifrin from Israel is still moving through the gears in central defensive midfield, but he marked his debut with an excellent win of possession before playing in Owen Sheppard who rifled across for Joe Mac to mark his first game in orange as he guided home.

That was a deserved reward for the #10 from Richmond Hill, Ontario, who had an earlier strike controversially denied for offside.

CAPERS now had the game in their grip and in the 67^th minute, it was 3-0 as Max Piepgrass' midfield artistry freed Sheppard to be the provider again for the raiding Mac who forced home his second from close range.

Huskies did pull one back with a late header from Callum Corkum after CAPERS made a meal of clearing a corner and lost a back post header that allowed the SMU defender to nod home from close range.

That, though, couldn't take the gloss off a hugely encouraging first day for CBU who now tackle Dalhousie tonight (Thursday, August 21) in the second instalment of a three-game road trip.

CAPERS (1-3-4-3): First-half: Clarke; Turpin, Beecher, Devine; Benjamin (Brown), Kilbride, Goldsztein, Maddock; Wadden, Scheurenbrand, Marmulak.

CAPERS (1-3-4-3): Second-half: Clarke; Spizzirri, Le, Cochrane; Shifrin, Piepgrass, Hartill, Mac; Nicholson, Bayo, Sheppard.