The rain-soaked and foggy field was no obstacle for SFU’s men’s soccer team, which dominated the game against the Montana State University Billings (MSUB) Yellowjackets. This extended SFU’s home unbeaten streak to 17 games, tying its own GNAC record from seasons 2012–14.
Four different players scored for the Clan, including Ryan Dhillon, Riley Pang, Magnus Kristensen, and Pascal Schmidt.
It will also be a night to remember for senior goalkeeper Brandon Watson, who has now earned the record for the most shutouts in the conference after extending his record to 29 clean sheets.
Three minutes before the end of the first half, GNAC Offensive Player of the Week Adam Jones fired a cross into the box. Pang positioned himself in the crowded MSUB defence and tricked the goalkeeper with a perfect header into the net.
Ten minutes into the second half, Mamadi Camara showed his footwork skills once again, as he delivered a ball into open space for Dhillon. The captain took Camara’s excellent feed and ran down the wing before notching the ball in behind MSUB goalkeeper Joe Scott.
Less than three minutes later, the Clan stunned MSUB’s defence with a third goal. Senior defender Robert Hyams took a corner, initially deflected by Brendan Shaw. Kristensen intercepted the ball and managed to put a header.
With 25 minutes to go, Hyams took another fancy corner but the ball eluded the goalkeeper’s hands. Pascal Schmidt’s left foot did the work with a quality shot to score his second goal of the season.
From there, the Clan left little space on the field for MSUB to create occasions.
“It’s a big-time result there. They’re [Montana State University Billings] the best team that we’ve played in-conference consistently, on both games.
“Are we 4–0 better than them? Maybe today, but they’re a good side, because they’re a team that could end up being in the national tournament too,” said head coach Clint Schneider.
“We take pride at playing at Terry Fox at night. I wish we could play here in nationals. There’s been a magic and we know that we are going to get the best from our guys when we play here, having the raining falling like that, that’s our type of game. It brings the best out of us.”
Coach Schneider gave most of the credit to his players for the Clan’s unbeaten streak. “We have a lot of good players. They’re the ones that do the work in between the lines.”
He also made various comments on his players’ performance. “What a goal by Riley Pang, the header was fantastic. We’re also very lucky to have a guy like Robert Hyams. When he’s playing well, things are usually going well. Kyle Jones has been so rock solid for us this year. He has made such an impact for us, he played excellent tonight.”
The Clan will now be on the road to play Western Washington and Seattle Pacific before the regular season ends.
