Cara Freeman hat-trick leads Huskies to 6-2 win over Aigles Bleues

HALIFAX, NS – Huskies forward Cara Freeman scored three goals and added an assist as Saint Mary's offence exploded in the second half in a 6-2 win over the Moncton Aigles Bleues on Saturday night in Halifax.

HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ⚽️

All six goals from tonight's Huskies offensive explosion in a 6-2 win over Moncton!

Cara Freeman: 3 goals & 1 assist
Erin Freeman: 1 goal & 1 assist
Allie Martin: 1 goal & 1 assist
Lindy Brunelle: 1 goal & 1 assist pic.twitter.com/60ukLZYhCp

— Saint Mary's Huskies (@SMUHuskies) October 1, 2023

Both teams provided an attacking front from the start, wasting no time at all. In the 17^th minute Huskies forward Allie Martin (Halifax, NS) swiftly dribbled past the Aigles Bleues defense and goalkeeper to tap in the ball which was impossibly kicked out of the post right in the nick of time by a tremendous effort from Aigles Bleues defender Zoe Brockbank (Grand-Digue, NB).

The first goal of the game came from Moncton forward Madeleine Belliveau (Dieppe, NB), who sent the ball flying in from the right wing at the 22^nd minute to put the Aigles Bleues in the lead.

Huskies forward Cara Freeman (Halifax, NS) tried to follow up just three minutes later, but the ball was flicked away by lightning-quick Aigles Bleues goalkeeper Adele Melançon-Caillé (Saint-Marie Salomé, QC).

The Huskies pushed to score an equalizer before half-time, but hit the crossbar on multiple opportunities. However, one of the crossbar strikes by midfielder Julia Pasma (Georgetown, ON), led to an opportunity on the rebound by Cara Freeman, who made no mistake to tie the match at 1-1 in the 45^th minute, as the teams went into half tied up.

The Huskies wasted no time at all beginning the second half with Cara Freeman scoring her second of the match off a fantastic assist by Martin, giving the Huskies a 2-1 lead just 30 seconds into the second half.

Moncton's Belliveau stepped her game up to match Freeman's effort and scored her own second goal at the 52^nd minute, tying the match at 2-2.

Saint Mary's offence kept attacking and Erin Freeman (Halifax, NS) put the home team in front in the 62^nd minute off a pass by defender Alexa Ikejiani (Minesing, ON).

Just two minutes later, the Huskies were able to extend their lead once again, as forward Lindy Brunelle (Keswick, ON) found Cara Freeman in front of goal, who was able to beat Melançon-Caillé with a high shut to put the Huskies in front 4-2. 

Moncton's Belliveau was able to make it past all defenders for a one-on-one with Huskies goalkeeper Grace Morrison later into the second half, but her efforts went in vain as the ball went too wide off the right side of the post.

In the 79^th minute, Cara Freeman had a shot stopped by Melançon-Caillé, but Allie Martin followed up on the rebound to put the Huskies in front 5-2.

The Huskies would score once more before the final whistle blew, with Lindy Brunelle heading home an Erin Freeman corner kick for her first career AUS goal, and the Huskies won by a final score of 6-2.

After a six-point weekend the Huskies record stands at 3-4-1, tying them with the Dalhousie Tigers for fifth place in the AUS standings. Saint Mary's will be back on home turf on Wednesday night, taking on the Tigers at 5 p.m. at Huskies Stadium.

The Aigles Bleues loss drops their record to 0-6-3 on the campaign. They'll have next weekend off, returning to action on Saturday, October 14 as they host the Dalhousie Tigers in Moncton, NB.

Recap by Vivek Philendra / Saint Mary's Huskies Athletics
Photos by Mona Ghiz / Saint Mary's Huskies Athletics