By: Simran Sarai, Sports Writer
SFU men’s soccer team is picking up steam as they head towards the end of their regular season, and compete for a playoff spot. On October 6, they took down the Western Washington University (WWU) Vikings 2–1, ending WWU’s unbeaten streak. At the time, the Vikings were ranked 20th in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) DII poll. Although the Red Leafs haven’t cracked the top 25 yet, they’re gaining recognition. Their win against WWU puts them in an even better position to make the list.
SFU senior midfielder Mark Talisuna opened the scoring with a penalty kick marker, less than a minute and a half after the first whistle. However, the Vikings made quick work of the Red Leafs lead, scoring the equalizer just minutes later. The game remained tied until junior forward Devin O’Hea notched a goal in the 72nd minute to seal the victory for SFU.
The Peak reached out to goal scorers Talisuna and O’Hea for a recap of the game, and what this win means for the remainder of their season.
SFU started the game with pressure early, infiltrating their opponents’ line of defense, and forcing the Vikings to take a penalty. Talisuna doesn’t have a specific move reserved for penalty kicks. He prefers to wait to see what the goalkeeper does before making his first move. “I usually just start to step right before I take it, so I can kind of catch the goalkeeper leaning, and then I just put it the other way,” he revealed. “That’s what I’ve done my last couple of penalties and it seems to be working for me.”
Penalty kick drills also aren’t something Talisuna and his teammates devote too much time to during practice. Talisuna believes it’s something players hone into when the moment comes. “The coaching staff trusts me to kind of go out there and execute when I’m put in those situations, so, that’s that,” he explained.
Although the Red Leafs held an early lead, the Vikings quickly rebounded to halt the momentum from Talisuna’s early goal. “When you score early, you’re kind of expected to build on from that,” said Talisuna. “The fact that they scored so quickly after us was kind of like a gut punch, but you just got to react as a team, and see if you can get back to doing the good things.”
While it can feel frustrating for players to start back at square one, Talisuna understands that it’s all a part of the game. “That’s what soccer is sometimes. It’s [a] game of momentum, and that’s how stuff plays out.”
O’Hea would restore the momentum with his second half goal. “I can remember it pretty vividly,” said O’Hea. “It was a corner kick from the left side. Our left back Niko [Papakyriakopoulos] crossed it in, and I ran near [the] post and headed the ball in.”
When asked how it felt to score the game winning goal, O’Hea talked about the relief of a little adding insurance. “We were tied 1–1. Getting that last goal really seals it off, and puts everyone head over heels, just knowing that we can win the game.” O’Hea says it was knowing the team had the ability to outperform the higher-ranked WWU team that kept them going late in the game.
While handing WWU its first loss of the season was an impressive feat for the team, both Talisuna and O’Hea are focused on booking their ticket to the postseason, with O’Hea hoping to do so against a familiar opponent in Seattle Pacific University. “They beat us last time at home 1–0,” said O’Hea about the extra stakes at play. “That’s a big game. We got to come up and be prepared to prove ourselves for that game, because they beat us at home. That leaves a sting, so we want revenge for that game for sure.”
