SFU keeps the ball rolling with victory in Washington

By Bryan Scott

The Simon Fraser men’s soccer team traveled to Bellingham, Washington to battle the Western Washington Vikings last week in front of 190 fans. Clan goaltender JD Blakely started the game in net for the Clan but was replaced by Hide Ozawa in the 27th minute. The game was scoreless at the time, and the Vikings had not registered a shot on net. Just four minutes after the change in goaltenders, the Vikings struck first with their first shot on goal. Viking forward Andrew Weishaar headed in a Kurtis Pederson free kick from 12 yards out to give the Vikings a 1–0 lead. They would keep that lead until halftime, despite being outshot by the Clan 9–1. The Clan had a lot of pressure, including six corner kicks, which they did not convert on.

The game was chippy in the second half. Clan midfielder Chris Bargholz received a yellow card in the 61st minute, but this did not hinder the Clan attack. Two minutes later, Justin Wallace picked off a pass from the Vikings defense, and buried his sixth goal of the season from 20 yards out past Viking’s goaltender Keegan Rogers.  With the game tied, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference’s best team was not going to let the game slip away. In the 72nd minute, Ryan Dhillon took a pass from fellow midfielder Alex Rowley, took it down the left side and fired it far-side to give the Clan a 2–1 lead. That was all they needed to win the game. Three more yellow cards were handed out near the end of the game, including one to Ozawa with seconds remaining in the match. The Clan outshot the Vikings 21–6 in the game. This game marked head coach Alan Koch’s 100th win as a collegiate coach. However, he had the future on his mind. “I am glad that we pulled off the win, but we need to be better if we want to achieve big success this season,” he said after the win.

The Clan has their eyes set on winning the GNAC title for the third straight year. They are on the right path. They sit at 10–1 on the season and 7–1 in the conference, they are first in the conference.