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Sports
Lads winners since 1975, maybe close to fourth title
By Matt Lee
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First season: 1975
Best season: 18-3-3 (1982 NAIA national champions)
National titles: 3
The men’s soccer program at SFU operates like a well-oiled machine in the sense that different players come and go over time yet the teams seem to remain competitive year after year.
The team has seen tremendous success in its 33 years of existence. The team frequently finishes the regular season with double digits in the wins column and since 1975 have had only one sub .500 team.
Last season, the Clan saw one of their best campaigns in 17 years with a 17-2-1 record and 3rd-place finish at the NAIA National Championships.
Only a year after being introduced to SFU, the men’s team first became national champions in 1976 under their first coach and co-founder John Buchanan.
Six years later, then-head coach Keith Watts led his squad to back-to-back national titles in 1982 and 1983, giving the team three titles. The team has also secured the regional championship an incredible 19 times.
Fast forward to the present and Alan Koch knows what it takes to be a winner. Once an All-American with SFU in 1998, he has dedicated himself to continuing the winning standard for the men’s squad, becoming the team’s fourth head coach.
“Our goal every year in this program, and I played here a good while ago, is to get to the national tournament,” said Koch, the former Clan soccer star who played here from 1996 to 1999.
Life after SFU has been sweet for a handful of alumni: 14 players have gone on to compete with Canada’s World Cup team and over the years have had 12 First-Team All-Americans.
As for what the future holds for men’s soccer, with the team in the hands of passionate coaches and hardworking lads, the team should expect to see themselves as a winner for years to come.