AUS Women’s Soccer End of Season Power Rankings

Jan 5

Written By Artie Fotheringham

Cape Breton Capers' celebrate a second straight AUS championship after a 2-1 victory against the Memorial Seahawks in Sydney, NS on October 26th, 2025. Photo by Vaughan Merchant

1. Cape Breton Capers

Top 2025 Performers: Grace Hannaford, Ellie Lancaster, Paige Allaby
2025 Record: 10-2-3

The Cape Breton Caper women may not have been the best AUS team through the regular season, but they built for October and delivered when it mattered most, capturing back-to-back AUS titles on home soil in 2025. The Capers' 2025 success was much in thanks to first-team all-star seasons from midfielder Grace Hanford and goalkeeper Ellie Lancaster. This team simply has a big-game mentality, something that has been a staple of the program over the years. When the season winds down, these Capers simply find a way to win. There is no reason to believe anything should be different in this regard going into the 2026 season, as Ness Timmons ’ Capers without a doubt remains the team to beat in Atlantic Canadian women’s soccer.

2. University of New Brunswick Reds

Top 2025 Performers - Caroline Grzesniak, Breanna Habinki, Aurora Hughes-Goyette
2025 Record: 8-2-3

Despite getting upset by the Capers in the AUS semi-finals, this UNB team looked like it had it all in 2025. If there’s one thing to highlight about this team, it’s their defence. The Reds only allowed an astounding 4 goals against the entire season, much in thanks to senior goalkeeper Breanna Habinki, who posted a remarkable 93% save percentage in 2025 for the Reds. Heading into 2026, this UNB team will be missing some starpower. Senior defender Caroline Grzesniak, who led the AUS with 7 assists in 2025, is graduating along with Heidi Lawerijssen, who finished her UNB career as the third-highest goalscorer in program history. Despite these significant losses, this team is filled with youthful energy and should have high hopes going into 2026. 2024 rookie of the year Evana Eyubeh will be back for the Reds, and there's no reason to believe this defensively tenacious, well-disciplined UNB squad won’t be a team to watch in 2026 as they continue their pursuit of the first AUS championship in program history.

3. Dalhousie Tigers

Top 2025 Performers - Paris Axam, Elise Evans, Megan Chiasson,
2025 Record: 10-2-1

Going into the AUS playoffs, this team looked unstoppable. The clear favourite to win it all on the back of an absolutely dominant 2025 regular season, a heartbreaking penalty shootout loss in the AUS semifinals ended the Tigers’ hopes for a first AUS banner since 2012. These tigers were led by a group of excellent seniors, a group which included first team all-stars Paris Axam and Megan Chiasson, second team all-star Elise Evans, and goalkeeper Emily Toth, who was a vital piece to the Tigers’ only conceding 6 regular season goals in 2025. Despite these losses, AUS coach of the year Cindy Tye is known for excellent recruiting, and these Tigers are filled with young talent, including Selena Lancaster, who was named to the AUS all-rookie team in 2025. Despite an unfortunate end to their 2025 campaign, this Tigers’ team will look to pick up where they left off in 2026 as they pursue that long-awaited AUS championship.

4. Acadia Axewomen

Top 2025 Performers: Leah Adams, Taylor Kay, Hannah Richardson-McKinnon
2025 Record: 6-5-2

5. Memorial Seahawks

Acadia women’s soccer has been one of the most consistently high-performing teams in the AUS, and despite losing in the AUS quarterfinals to the eventual champion Capers, there is so much to be excited about for this young squad in 2026. Senior Taylor Kay had an outstanding season, picking up 2nd all-star honours in 2025, while rookie Hannah Richardson-McKinnon was a member of the all-rookie teams. It was also only the first year at the helm for head coach Danielle Cyr, who led the Canada Games squad to an impressive bronze medal finish last summer in Newfoundland. One would have to assume that some members of this Canada Games team will be excited about the idea of reuniting with their head coach and playing in Wolfville next fall.

The Memorial Seahawks were one of the most exciting AUS teams to watch in 2025. Headlined by a three-headed monster of 5th year seniors in AUS MVP Zoe Rôwe, 1st team all-star Claire Langille, and 2nd team all-star Jennifer Milligan. This team proved each week that they could compete with any team in the AUS, and they nearly stole the show in the AUS championship. After an incredible run all the way to the AUS finals, it might seem odd to find this team as the 5th team to watch heading into 2026. However, this ranking, more so than anything, is a testament to the strength of the graduating seniors on this team and the influence that AUS MVP Zoe Rôwe had on this Seahawk squad. Heading into 2026, the Seahawks will head into a new era without their senior stars. However, based on the discipline and excitement this team plays with, head coach Mike Power might just have all the tools necessary to make another big run in 2026.

6. St Francis Xavier X-women

Top 2025 Performers: Bryn Canning, Avril Jamieson, Aidan Miller
2025 Record: 3-4-6

The St. Francis Xavier X-Women soccer team had a heartbreaking end to their 2025 season, to say the least. With 14 minutes left in the AUS quarterfinal, the X-Women were leading 1-0 over CBU, but what happened over the next 10 minutes was a dramatic collapse to say the least. Conceding 2 goals within a 10-minute span, STFX would go on to lose to the eventual AUS Champion Capers. After such a catastrophe, you’d assume the group would be in disarray, but it is far from that. With the return of First Team All-Star Bryn Canning and Second Team All-Star/AUS Rookie of the Year Avril Jamieson, this group is led by no shortage of talent. Along with these two, other young players like Addison Langley and the experience of BC native Aidan Miller hope to lead the team to heights they achieved in 2023. With no graduating seniors departing after this season and a hungry group looking to avenge their miseries from the season before, the X-Women may well be a team nobody is looking forward to playing next season.

7. SMU Huskies

The Saint Mary’s Huskies Women’s soccer team proved to be a team full of entertainment, scoring 23 goals over the 12-game regular season. However, after a disastrous end to the regular season in which the Huskies conceded 8 goals and only scored two in their final 3 games, the attacking threat of the Huskies was extinguished, and they were excluded from a trip to the AUS playoffs for a second straight season. With graduating seniors Madison Ganong and Brenna Kennedy departing, the path to success may be an uphill battle for SMU. However, with the likes of First Team All-Star Cara Freeman and 4th year midfielder Charlotte Baines returning for another season of action for the Huskies, there are definitely bright spots for this team. Alongside these seasoned veterans, the Huskies also have an exciting group of young players returning, including Lauryn Hatfield and Abby Patten, who will be looking to build on their already impressive rookie campaigns in 2026. With the hopes of securing a strong defensive unit and building on an already exciting attacking unit being the main priorities, the SMU Huskies should be an exciting team to watch heading into the 2026 season.

8. Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus

The Moncton Aigles Bleues have come a long way over the years. Just 3 years ago, in 2022, this Moncton squad finished dead last in the AUS without a single point to show for their efforts, largely being viewed as the consensus bottom team in the AUS. Since then, these Aigles Bleues have been on a consistently upward trajectory and have finished with more points in each of the last three seasons. The future looks bright for the sole French school in the AUS, a revelation led by Second Team All-Star Alexane Dupuis and All Rookie Team member Lalou Dilhac. With Dupuis departing from the squad following the end of the 2025 season, many may question the direction of Moncton’s squad without her leadership. However, with the likes of Lalou Dilhac building on her impressive rookie campaign and Jessie Landry returning in 2026, this group will be trying to reach playoff qualification for the first time since 2015, when they automatically qualified for the tournament as hosts despite finishing the regular season winless at the bottom of the table. If the Aigles Bleues can manage to fill the loss of Alexan Dupuis, expect them to turn some heads in 2026.

9. University of Prince Edward Island Panthers

Top 2025 Performers: Claudia Mazzei, Mia Martell
2025 Record: 1-10-1

After impressive preseason results for the UPEI Panthers, including a 3-0 win over Moncton, it was thought that a possible playoff appearance could be on the books for the first time since 2014 for the Panthers. In spite of their impressive run in August, the Panthers totaled 1 win in 2025, conceding 25 goals in 12 games on the way to a second-to-last-place finish in the standings. Perhaps the rock bottom for UPEI came on September 7th against Memorial, in which the group lost 7-0. In October, however, they did manage to beat Mount Allison 3-0 to avoid the last position in the AUS table. Looking forward to next season, it comes as no surprise to say that UPEI needs to address its defensive woes. If this drastic improvement is possible, it will be at the hands of Ontario native Claudia Mazzei, who led the AUS with 65 saves in 2025 and enters her final year of eligibility in 2026.

10. Mount Allison Mounties

Top 2025 Performers: Maeve Williams, Victoria Jones, Grace Pece
2025 Record: 0-10

The 2025 AUS season marked the second straight winless season for the Mount Allison Mounties in the second year at the helm of the women’s program for head coach Derrick O’Keefe. 2025 also marked the final season for several key Mounties, including Maeve Williams, Victoria Jones, and Grace Pece. Despite starting the season somewhat strongly with only a 2-0 defeat to Acadia, this team would go on to lose every match of the season by at least 3 goals, ending the season with back-to-back 6-0 defeats, both on home soil. Heading into 2026, it’s clear that this team has some work to do, but Derrick O’Keefe is a top coach with an excellent resume, and we shouldn't count this group out to potentially turn some heads in 2026.

Artie Fotheringham

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