SFU women’s soccer team scoring drought pushed to nine games

By Bryan Scott

The Simon Fraser women’s soccer team were desperate to get back into the win column last week. They have not won a game since their second of the season where they defeated Hawaii Pacific. Their first attempt was against the St. Martin’s Saints who came up from . . . to battle the Clan on Terry Fox FIeld.
Clan goaltender Amanda Gilliand kept them in the game in the first 10 minutes making a few clutch saves. The rest of the team responded by firing nine shots and forcing the Saints’ goaltender to make five saves in the half. Unfortunately, the Clan were unable to score a goal, and the game remained scoreless at halftime.

This proved to be costly for the Clan, as they came out flat in the second half. Tessa Barbour managed their only shot of the half in the 50th minute, but it was stopped. Two minutes later, a scramble in front of the Clan net allowed Saints’ midfielder Caley Wiseman to score and give them a 1–0 lead. The Saints took 14 shots in the half but only managed to get three on net. In the 81st minute, they put the nail in the coffin, when Nicole Nedervelt put the ball passed Gilliand, pushing the lead to 2–0. The Clan failed to score a goal in the game, which has been a problem all season.
Next, they headed down to Nampa, Idaho for their first game of a two-game road trip. They met the Northwest Nazarene Crusaders who won their first match of the season 1–0. It was the Crusaders who dominated play in the first half, outshooting the Clan 9–2, forcing Gilliand to make four saves. They did not allow the Clan to get a shot on target. Despite the lopsided shooting, the game remained scoreless at halftime. It was a rough and tough half, with 21 fouls given out between the teams, but no cards were given.

Gilliand was impressive once again to start the second half, but could not stop a 15-yard shot from Crusader forward Sarah Blum in the 62nd minute. The Clan pressed late but did not find the equalizing goal. This is the ninth straight game that the Clan have failed to score a goal. They have the worst record in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (0–11) and sit at 1–13 on the season.