The Clan women’s soccer team has seen its share of struggles since joining the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, but despite not having cracked the win column yet this season, the ladies aren’t throwing in the towel.
SFU faced the Central Washington Wildcats in what was shaping up to be their most contested game of the season; battling back and forth throughout the first half of play at Terry Fox Field, as the Clan controlled the majority of the play over the first 45 minutes.
Unfortunately, a break in momentum caused a successful counter-attack for the ‘Cats, as the visitors were able to put their first goal away in the 40th minute. Two minutes later however, in a speedy turn-around, the Clan ladies raced back down the field as Jessica Marano netted a corner kick by Karm Jawandha for her first of the season to tie the game at one.
After the half, the Clan fell behind again in the 56th minute, but were able to create a second comeback 11 minutes later, resulting in their first two-goal game of the season. This time it was Jessica Hadden off a Sophie D’Souza cross into the six-yard box that tied the game as the score moved to 2-2. Unfortunately the Wildcats were able to capitalize on a breakaway opportunity in the 75th minute and their 3-2 lead would remain uncontested throughout the remainder of the game. The Clan’s heart was evident in their two comeback attempts, demonstrating a resilience fans can look forward to watching the remainder of the season.
Two days later the ladies were unable to stop 23rd ranked Seattle Pacific University Falcons, falling 3-0 at home. Karm Jawandha had two shots on goal and Katrina Abel rang one off the post but the home side was unable to seal the deal. The Clan’s two losses drop them to 0-6-2 in the conference with eight games remaining in the regular season.
After the weekend, goaltender Meg Wilson picked up the SFU Student Athlete Advisory Committee athlete of the week award, thanks to her assistance to the team during an injury ridden period.
With both of their goaltenders out with injuries, the Clan had been using midfielder Teagan Rae Sorokan in net, but Wilson, a sophomore post on the basketball team stepped up and offered her services to the team taking over the net-minding role and showing what the athletes refer to as “The Clan Family.”