After an embarrassing 5–0 loss on Saturday, September 26, which saw the team surrender five goals in the first 15 minutes of the game, the Clan were happy to take a 1–0 victory against the Montana State University-Billings (MSUB) Yellowjackets Thursday night.

“I was looking forward to how they were going to bounce back, if that was going to affect them, and honestly this is the best football they’ve played all season,” said Head Coach Annie Hamel. “Again, it’s a young group and they didn’t let those 18 minutes [last game] define them, they just came back with a vengeance today and played smart and hard soccer. I was very proud of them.”

For much of the first half, SFU dominated the pace of play, with a number of clear chances to take the lead. Though possession belonged to the Clan for much of the half, it was thanks to a few key saves by Priya Sandhu — particularly a shot 13:40 into the game — that temporarily kept it a scoreless affair.

Moments later, in the 17th minute, SFU forward Olivia Aguiar netted the only goal of the match, with assists on the play from freshman forward Katelyn Erhardsen and sophomore defender Mikela Fong.

Despite a series of chances from both teams, neither team could get on the scoreboard for the rest of the match. The second half played like a highlight reel of quality chances for the Clan that just wouldn’t go in.

SFU did appear to have a second goal, however, it was waved off due to an offside. This meant the Clan had to close out the game with a nerve–wracking one goal lead. With 29 seconds left, SFU was called for a foul, and MSUB got a chance to tie up the game on a free kick, but was cleared by the Clan’s backline.

Goalkeeper Priya Sandhu was perfect, making three saves, and her fifth shutout of the season.

The Clan are now 4–1–2 overall and 2–1–1 in the conference, good for third place — impressive for a team that since 2010 hasn’t had more than two wins in a season. However, one issue that the team does face is an inability to convert chances into goals — having only scored more than one goal in a game once this season, in a total of seven games.

“I thought we possessed the ball very well, our movement of the ball was very good, our shape was very good, we created a lot of opportunities,” said Hamel. “But again the same story is we’re not finishing them, [in] these one goal games, our rate is not high enough in terms of the chances we create compared to the chances we put away, so that’s got to get better.

“We need to give the backline and Priya a cushion.”

The Battle for the Border continued as a youthful Simon Fraser University football team (0–3) traveled down to Ellensburg, Washington to take on the Central Washington University Wildcats (2–2) in what would be a one sided matchup in favor of CWU.

Woes for the Clan started before the game even had a chance to begin: as key injuries to defensive backs Jordan Pugh and Cairo Messer-Barrow forced the coaching staff to start true freshmen Jake Tumblin and Josh Bayne against a fierce Wildcat offense. Starting running back Josh Hayden was also a scratch for the game after suffering a hamstring injury in practice earlier in the weak.

“We’ve had many injuries [. . .] key guys at corner, safety, linebacker, running backs, you name it there’s injuries,” said Head Coach Kelly Bates following their 40–7 loss.

The Clan opened the start of the game with a promising seven minute drive as quarterback Ryan Stanford moved the chains by connecting with receivers Sam Swerehorn and Earl ‘Swagup’ Anderson on separate pairs of catches. However, the drive ended in a missed 38-yard field goal attempt.

Big plays hurt the youthful Clan defense in the remain minutes of the first quarter as the Wildcats quickly put up 21 points, including an 80 yard touchdown pass on their first offensive play of the game.

Coach Bates addressed his young defenses performance by stating, “They saw some things [in the game] that they’ve seen in practice, but they just weren’t able to adjust to it quick enough [. . .] it really comes down to experience, and that’s what happened.

“We’ve got a lot of young guys right now that are playing, and gaining a lot of valuable experience,” Bates explained. “We’re very young, and we’re going to pay for that lack of experience right now, but it’s going to pay off down the line, and that’s really what you saw happen on the weekend.”

The Wildcats continued to dominate on offense, as they would score two more touchdowns to close out the half, putting the score to 35–0.

It was a tough rest of the game for the Clan offense as the Wildcat defense continued to sack the quarterback and hold the offense to fourth down. With Josh Hayden out of the game due to injury, freshmen David Lagou stepped up to take on the Clan’s rushing duties; however, he was only be able to amass 25 yards on 15 rushing attempts.

A commanding lead forced the Wildcats to play many of their second string players as the second half wore on. The young and injured Clan team would rally to win a second half point differential of 7–5, but would still claim a loss against a conference opponent.

Back-up quarterback Tyler Nickel was able to connect with the speedster Earl Anderson on a 55-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter to keep the game from being a shutout.

SFU will take the week to heal their wounds and look to get their first win of the season at home on October 10 against Dixie State (1–3).

After watching Andrea Pirlo play last Saturday against the Whitecaps, I was inspired to write this article on my thoughts on the legend himself. He is by far my favourite soccer player of all time, and I am entirely convinced there will never be another like him.

The numbers speak for themselves. Pirlo has won practically everything there is to win at the highest level. Alongside the six Italian league titles, he won two Champions League trophies with the great Milan sides of the 2000’s, and of course the 2006 World Cup, where he was named man of the match in the final, and turned this sports editor into a huge fan of his.

But that’s not what is most impressive about him. What is most impressive is that Pirlo is entirely different from every other soccer player out there. Ronaldo amazes you with his athleticism; he can do it all. Messi amazes you with his dribbling and his one-on-one skills. But Pirlo amazes you with his brain.

He always seems to be in open space, ready to deliver a perfect pass to a player higher up the pitch. In an era where soccer fans seemed to be only concerned with flashiness and highlight reel goals, Pirlo is a throwback. He’ll never have any amazing runs through five players like Messi, but he will place the perfect pass nearly every time. Even at the age of 36, he was still playing at the highest level, starting in the Champions League final for Juventus.

Pirlo will probably go down as one of, if not the greatest free kick specialist of all time. If he has a chance within 25 yards of the goal, nine times out of ten it’s in the back of the net. He can score them any way as well; whether it’s bending it away from the wall, or hitting it perfectly into a bottom corner, his right foot is as precise as a surgeon. To quote Pirlo from his autobiography, which is a terrifically written book: “I strike those dead balls Alla Pirlo. Each shot bears my name, and they’re all my children.”

His personality and look is unlike any other professional athlete. It oozes coolness and class. He owns his own vineyard. His book is entitled I Think Therefore I Play, a twist on the famous Descartes quote. I can’t imagine another athlete who would title their book after a quote from a 16th century French philosopher. He also has one of the sexiest beards in all of the world, only rivaled by our Copy Editor Joel MacKenzie’s.

Andrea Pirlo is like a Michelangelo sculpture; one of a kind. He is a playmaker the likes of which we may never see again. I speak for all soccer fans when I say I hope he continues on for a few more years.

One of the things I never realised before I started working at The Peak is the great history that this paper has. It’s been going strong for 50 years now, and for all but one month, as long as SFU has been around, The Peak has been, too.

Going through the archives for this piece, it’s interesting to see fellow students who have been in my position comment on events with neutrality and facts, events which I have remembered through just emotions and memory. While you could probably write a whole feature on how The Peak covered big, world-changing news events, as Sports Editor, I decided to focus on how the paper covered sports, from way before I was even born up to the recent past.

In the previous SFU publication called The S.F. View, the sports section’s big focus was on Clansmen football, coached by the late Lorne Davies. The second game in their history was mentioned, a contest against Western Washington. It’s interesting that 50 years later, things have come full circle. Despite SFU playing in NAIA, then CIS, and now the NCAA, the Clan are now once again playing Western Washington on a regular basis.

The Canucks played their first ever game on October 9, but it wasn’t covered by The Peak.

The Canucks played their first ever game on October 9, and The Peak was. . . not on the scene. There was no mention of the team’s upcoming first game in the October 7 issue, and none in the October 19 issue. But in their defence, the issue on that day was solely focused on the enactment of the War Measures Act and the FLQ crisis, a pretty big issue at the time to say the least.

The Whitecaps first game was in May of 1974, and was not mentioned at all. The team’s run to the 1979 NASL championship, which I thought would have been covered extensively, again didn’t get any articles on the subject.

Same with the Canucks’ first ever appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals in 1982. No real mentions of it in any issues close to when it happened in May of 1982. It continues a trend in early issues where the focus is solely on SFU Athletics and even intramural sports, and not on any professional sports.

The 1985 BC Lions Grey Cup victory coverage was limited to one line. The writer, Jason Brown, mentioned that the SFU wrestling team was “motivated by the BC Lions’ victory at the Grey Cup game.” And that’s it.

Moving on to when I was alive (though only two months old), the most shocking omission is the lack of coverage on the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals. Though, in the “For Sale” section of the May 30th, 1994 issue there was a classified for someone selling a ticket to the final. So at least there’s that.

Now let’s go to the recent past. The Vancouver Grizzlies’ relocation got its own article in the February 19, 2001 issue of The Peak. In it, writer Conrad Au outlines the reasons for the Grizzlies’ move to Memphis, which includes owner Michael Heisley, the fact that they always sucked, and the “lack of support the community gave to the franchise.” He goes on to comment on the failure of an NBA franchise may affect Vancouver’s 2010 Olympics bid. In hindsight, this makes no sense at all. The Olympics are a prestigious international event with the best athletes in the world; the Grizzlies were a mediocre basketball team that never won more than 25 games in a season.

The 2005 NHL lockout officially ended the entire NHL season on February 16, 2005. In the September 27, 2004 issue of The Peak, Ross Prusakowski issued the prophetic statement that the lockout will “probably wipe out [the] entire season” and the less prophetic one that the CIS could fill the void of the NHL. CIS didn’t fill that void during the lockout — junior hockey did, particularly with Sidney Crosby tearing it up.

The November 8th, 2004 issue featured writer Graeme Ellis voicing his displeasure over the stubbornness of the NHL and the NHLPA. At the time, I remember it was quite frustrating that both sides refused to negotiate with each other. It was like a game of chicken between two sides, playing with the emotions of passionate fans. These sentiments would be repeated amongst hockey fans seven years later.

In an interesting twist, a rebuttal was written for the November 15 issue. Writer Mark-Daniel Hughes outlined the reasons behind his support for why he supported the NHL lockout. In it he outlined that the vast majority of NHL teams are losing money, and that a lockout would be the only way to solve these economic problems. His main argument was that it’s better to lose one year of hockey than lose it all together.

A lot of these issues were resolved because of the lockout, but this pro-owners stance certainly wasn’t very popular in the day.

Finally, to the 2011 Stanley Cup Final. The May 30 issue featured a cover declaring Vancouver a “Canucks City,” and it truly was. Canucks car flags were everywhere, and everyone seemed to be wearing Canucks swag. I don’t think I took off my jersey for the whole final.

The Peak finally got it right with the Canucks’ third trip to the final. Pages 18 and 19 were dedicated to covering it, with a “panel” segment on page 19. Peak Associate Ronil Desai, when asked if we’d seen the last of Roberto Luongo and the soft goals, said “No, however I do believe they will be far less frequent, particularly during clutch situations.” If only we knew.

I could go on for a lot longer about how The Peak covered various other sporting events. The point is, The Peak has covered a wide variety of sports in a wide variety of ways. Sometimes we’ve missed the big events, but it’s indicative of the history of this paper to try things differently, and I hope that continues well into the future.