After playing to their first loss of the season and dropping from first to ninth-place in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Div. II rankings, the SFU men’s soccer team was determined to reassert themselves.
For the most part, they’ve been successful in doing just that.
The Clan have gone unbeaten in their last three matches since their 2–1 defeat against Seattle Pacific, including two wins.
The first was a 2–1 win over Saint Martin’s University Saints, and the second was a defensively dominant 2–0 shutout over the Western Washington University Vikings.
Facing the Vikings, Clan newcomer Alex Kleefeldt, a junior defender out of Frankfurt, Germany, shone. He opened the scoring with a header in the 12th minute, and was a key member of the Clan’s defensive strategy that completely nullified the WWU attack. For his efforts, he was named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Red Lion defensive player of the week.
“Alex has done a great job of solidifying our defence,” said head coach Alan Koch in a press release. “He has now adjusted to the North American game and also comes up with some timely goals for us.”
Efforts like Kleefeldt’s have pulled the Clan back up into third-place in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America NCAA rankings. Kleefeldt has helped his team to four shutouts this season and, while there’s little doubting the Clan’s defensive prowess, this season they’ve been unable to put teams away offensively as they have in past years — especially on the road.
More than a few times, the Clan have had to play catch up, as they did on Thursday against the University of Mary Mauraders. The game ended in a 2–2 double-overtime draw, but SFU trailed twice in the game, something they were unaccustomed to doing in seasons past.
If not for a flurry of goals late — three in the final 12 minutes, including two from the Clan — the outcome could likely have been another defeat, and another drop in the rankings. For a team that demands perfection, two losses on the season would’ve been unacceptable.
A draw isn’t exactly the desired outcome either, but the Clan will likely take the result happily after trailing by 1–0 and 2–1 scores in the final 15 minutes. But, as it stands, the Clan have made the necessary adjustments after that loss to rival SPU Falcons to make another climb in the rankings.
Draws won’t necessarily help their position there, but their ability to consistently fight back is laudable — though the less they have to rely on it, the better. They’re still comfortably in first-place in the GNAC and, as Koch will say, winning the conference is the first step to bringing home an NCAA Div. II championship.
