Playing the Montana State Billings Yellowjackets (MSUB), the Clan faced enough twists and turns to make your head spin. Excitement was certainly not an issue in this game — though blown leads were.
The game started off with a bang, as Clan midfielder Joseph Martin was taken down in the box within the first minute, leading to an SFU a penalty kick. Jovan Blagojevic did not miss the opportunity and delivered an early lead for SFU.
However, the lead was short lived, as the Billings returned the favour 12 minutes later, also off of a penalty kick.
SFU eventually seized a dominant lead, scoring two goals before the half was over, with Niko Schroettle and Ryan Dhillon adding to the total tally. Martin also notched an assist on the first goal. With a score of 3-1 in their favour, the game seemed to be in SFU’s hands.
The second half would prove to be less successful for the Clan.
Although it started off with a scoring opportunity for both teams, in the 60th minute, Martin was ejected for what appeared to be an obscene gesture towards the referee. This was a turning point in the match, and just like that, the Clan were down to 10 men.
To add injury to insult, starting goalie Brandon Watson was taken off the field with what looked like a pulled hamstring; Ivan Hutsulyak had to sub in to replace him.
In the 67th minute, MSUB’s Colin Ralston scored twice, tying SFU at three and eliminating the Clan’s hard earned lead.
Multiple scoring opportunities were exchanged before the half ended, the best chance for SFU being a saved header that tested the Montana goalie. The Yellowjackets scored just after time expired, and thought it should have counted. Luckily for the Clan, the referees did not agree, and the game headed into overtime.
The overtime session was comprised of two 10-minute halves. Both teams waited until the last minute of the second half to make things interesting. Yellowjacket Strom Nuernberger was shown a red card and sent off. Off the ensuing free kick, defender Joel Malouf directed a header on goal that produced a rebound, but in the end was put wide. The game ended in SFU’s second straight draw.
Head coach Alan Koch acknowledged the impact that Martin’s red card had on the game, saying, “It warrant[ed] a red card and that was part of the reason we didn’t get the three points tonight.”
Despite this, he was impressed with how the team handled the adversity. “I’m incredibly proud of the players that were on the pitch after we got the red card. Even though you’re a man down, you’re playing against a good team and our guys worked their backsides off throughout the game.”
