Veteran Amanda Smith leads X-Women to a 3-1 road victory over rival Capers
CBU retires Ciera Disipio’s jersey number in pre-game ceremony By Corey LeBlanc
SYDNEY – On an afternoon when one of the premiere student-athletes in program history was honoured, the Cape Breton University (CBU) Capers (2-1-0) dropped a hard-fought decision to the visiting STFX X-Women (3-0-0) in Atlantic University Sport (AUS) action at Ness Timmons Field.
Ciera Disipio, who excelled in Caper orange for five All-Canadian calibre seasons, had her number #8 retired by CBU Athletics prior to the match-up featuring long-time rivals.
"It is a program, not just a team – that's why it is so special here at CBU," the Ottawa native said during the on-field ceremony.
While donning a Caper orange T-shirt emblazoned with the phrase, 'Forever a Caper,' she reflected on the "family atmosphere" she discovered on the east coast; something that meant a great deal to a young woman from a tight-knit Italian family.
"Everyone was so welcoming," Disipio remembered.
She stressed the importance of the "transferable skills" she learned with the women's soccer program that she continues to use in her life."
While gesturing towards the Caper bench, along with young players in the crowd, Disipio encouraged them "to do what I did and more."
When it comes to her legacy, after finishing her freshman campaign with the AUS top rookie award, the dynamic forward scored three consecutive conference MVP awards, along with a trio of U SPORTS 1st-Team All-Canadian selections. She is the only student-athlete in conference history to captured three top-player awards.
Disipio also excelled in the classroom, the Dean's List student finishing with Academic All-Canadian status in each of her five campaigns in Caper orange. She was also a two-time recipient of the Top-8 Academic All-Canadian Award, an annual honour presented by the Governor General of Canada.
Along with her academic and athletic achievements, Disipio gave back immensely in the community, which included working with organizations such as Fanatics in Training, Youth in Motion and Shoot for the Cure. She also coached with the Soccer Cape Breton U17 program and her hometown Ottawa Fury Minis, while serving as a key contributor to the growth of Capers in the Community.
While donning Caper orange, Disipio and her teammates earned four AUS banners, along with U SPORTS silver and bronze medals. Her leadership qualities on the pitch, in the classroom and in the community made her an invaluable member of the Capers family, earning her the admiration of many soccer fans around the country.
Describing her as "true legend," John Ryan, CBU director of athletics and recreation, praised her myriad accomplishments, including as a second-to-none leader. He noted her modesty and humbleness as a student-athlete.
"For Ciera, it has always been all about the team," he said.
Long-time Caper assistant coach Robert White remembered Disipio's recruiting visit to the Sydney campus in 2014.
"When we talked about her, we agreed there was something special here," he noted.
Nevertheless, White said, there was "no way" the coaching staff could have predicted the impact she would make, not only on the field, but also off the field and in the community.
"She was always the hardest worker on the team," he added, noting Disipio's improvement with each passing varsity season.
White said the Capers have never had a "better or stronger" leader, remembering how she would pick up cones before and after practice.
Although he had to spend some time in the Disipio's kitchen in Ottawa, while trying to convince her – and her parents, Sandra and Marco (who attended the celebration) – to "loan" their daughter to the CBU program," veteran Caper head coach Ness Timmons said the effort was well worth it.
"She embraced everything," he offered of Disipio's approach on the field, in the classroom and in the community.
And, with anything she tackled, Timmons noted that her "leadership" came shining through, which made making her a CBU captain in her final four varsity seasons an easy decision.
Timmons described how it was great to watch a then 18-year-old, with unending potential, develop into a quality person.
"I consider her to be a great friend of mine," he said.
Disipio is the fourth CBU women's soccer alumni to have her jersey retired, joining Sarah Drake, Dr. Karolyn Blain and Hannah Abenheimer.
"Leave [CBU] better than you left it, and inspire the ones who follow you to do the same," she said of those who have and will follow her in Caper orange.
On the pitch
On a day when the Capers honoured an All-Canadian – led by one of their own, Amanda Smith (Ottawa, ON), the X-Women scored the convincing early season triumph.
The White and Blue thought they had tallied in the 10th minute, but the goal was wiped away. CBU's freshman keeper Ellie Lancaster (Fall River, NS) made a stellar initial save off Brynn Jurus (Ancaster, ON), who grabbed her rebound and fed Hannah Yantha (Cambridge, ON), but she was deemed to be offside when she poked the ball into the net.
After STFX held an edge for the first 15 minutes or so, the play evened out – with both sides showing tremendous patience while battling the sweltering heat.
In the 26th minute, Smith (Ottawa, ON) got free for a strike – from the just outside the box – but Lancaster lunged to her right to deflect the ball out to touch.
Ten minutes later, from much further out, Smith tested the first-year backstop, who easily corralled the strike.
The Capers answered with a couple of chances later in the opening half, including a corner kick during extra time, but keeper Christina Gentile (Laval, QC) remained relatively untested for the X-Women.
The sides were scoreless heading to the locker room.
In the second half, after Leah Disipio (Ottawa, ON) – Ciera's cousin – made a couple of dangerous runs, the X-Women opened the scoring on a sensational individual effort from Smith in the 47th minute. After making a great run into the box, and then shedding a Caper defender, the White and Blue standout ripped a blast off the right hand of Lancaster that deflected underneath the cross bar to make it 1-0.
Less than two minutes later, in the 49th minute, Aidan Miller (Chilliwack, BC) raced into the box and pick up a loose ball, one that she chipped behind a charging Lancaster to double the STFX advantage.
With her second marker – on a penalty kick in the 51st minute – Smith stretched the X-Women's edge to 3-0. It was the White and Blue's third goal in less than four minutes.
In the 59th minute, the Capers got on the scoreboard when Charly Mitchell (Spruce Grove, AB) headed home a free kick from Amy-Anne Ndiaye to make it 3-1.
With CBU trying to rally, the visitors tightened their defense and gave few scoring opportunities; the best one coming in the 68th minute when Ally Rowe (Kitchener, ON) directed a cross from Lauren Rowe (Conception Bay South, NL), but Gentile made a spectacular stop to maintain the two-goal advantage.
Mitchell was the player of the match for the Capers, while Smith received the nod for the USPORTS #10-ranked X-Women.
STFX will return to action tomorrow (Sunday, Sept. 10), when they host the Saint Mary's Huskies in a 1 p.m. ADT start at STFX Stadium.
CBU will be back on the pitch on Saturday, Sept. 16, at 1 p.m. ADT, when they travel to Halifax to face the Dalhousie Tigers at Wickwire Field.
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