On Thursday, the SFU women’s soccer team earned their first GNAC win against the Western Oregon Wolves (WOU) by a score of one-nil. Usually a slim margin of victory indicates a close contest, but that was not the case in this game; SFU seemed to be in control almost from the outset.
The game started with SFU dominating the possession. In the 15th minute, midfielder Sierra Leung took a shot from just outside the 18-yard box and deposited it into the back of the net for a quick lead, which turned out to be the only goal of the evening for SFU, but not their last chance.
At the 20th minute, forward Olivia Aguiar got a header off from about six yards out, but it was right at the goalkeeper. She had a strong game, providing width for the team and delivering some excellent crosses into the box for her teammates. Aja Choy-Halo was also a notable presence whose physical defending frustrated the forwards of Western Oregon.
Nearing the end of the second half, freshman goalkeeper Priya Sandhu made what seemed to be her only difficult save of the evening, a nice diving save from a shot that was heading into the bottom corner.
The second half was more of the same. SFU played well defensively, forcing Western Oregon to attempt a counter attack. However, the visitors from Oregon could only manage long range shots, which were no trouble for SFU.
Assistant coach Lee Tregonning was pleased with the team’s victory: “Overall, the girls have come a long way. Based on their training attitude, and their playing attitude the last two to three weeks, they fully deserved a victory.”
He also addressed the squad rotation in the game, as there was a total of only five substitutions made by SFU. “We’ve got a small squad compared to other universities. Being able to trust and have everyone rotate when we need them to do a job, I think it’s a fantastic thing for the squad. Everyone that actually went in today fulfilled their duty and worked their socks off.”
The Clan look to turn this result into positive momentum as they travel to face the Western Washington Vikings in Bellingham, WA on Thursday, October 2.
