SFU men’s soccer coach Clint Schneider was busy in the offseason looking for new players to help bolster an already strong Clan-squad. Five promising high schoolers and an established college forward signed for SFU, and Coach Schneider sat down with The Peak to hear his views on the new talent making its way up the mountain.
Raheed Rahim (MF)
Previous school: Cariboo Hill Secondary
“Raheed is extremely quick, technically very gifted, creative, does a lot of good things, has lots of good habits. A lot of people will look at Raheed and write him off based on his size [5’7”]. I don’t believe in that, it’s about their ability. Raheed plays with a chip on his shoulder, he’s not afraid of physical play, and he’ll succeed in our environment because he’s a winner.”
Lucas McIlveen (DF)
Previous school: Dr. Charles Best Secondary
“He never looks out of place physically. Good enough pace, very good one-on-one defender, reads the game really well, has good ‘football IQ,’ as we would say, and his technical ability as a centre back is really good, his passing, his technique, etc. Again, a winner, plays for a very good club in the VMSL, wins lots of games there, and it’s no coincidence that he starts a lot of those games.”
Kristian Yli-Hietanen (FW)
Previous school: Capilano University
“I truly believe that he has the ability to step in right away. Now that’s gonna be up to him, but when we brought him up from Pacwest we brought him in because we thought he was going to play. He’s athletic, he simplifies the game as a number nine, he’s excellent in the air, and he can finish. We’re looking for a guy who can finish chances, and he can finish chances.”
Erik Morden (DF/MF)
Previous school: Dr. Charles Best Secondary
“Super athletic and very, very fast. Plays rugby sevens, so physically he is not afraid of contact whatsoever. [. . .] Excellent player, gives us versatility, can play on either side, has a right foot and a left foot. He usually plays left back or left wing for his team, sometimes he plays as a forward too. I would be really surprised if he doesn’t give us minutes this coming year, but it’s up to him.”
Aidan Bain (GK)
Previous School: Terry Fox Secondary
“Aidan has all the tools, big, strong, athletic, extremely driven, very good academically, big hands, which you need for a goalkeeper, reads the game really, technically he’s there. He is as ready to play right away as any other goalkeeper we’ve brought in. [. . .] Will it be tough? Absolutely. It’ll be up to him, just like for any other player we have on the team. But he definitely has the ability to do it.”
Stefan Cuk (DF/MF)
Previous School: Burnaby Central
“He’s versatile, he can play multiple positions. [. . .] Very, very good technically, really good understanding of the game, good athlete, still growing into his body. Tremendous upside, high character, and lives in Burnaby so he’s a guy that’s just down the hill for us. He really has the ability to start for us, but it’s up to him.”
