The Peak

Clan keep ball rolling with fifth straight

By Matt Lee, Associate Staff Contributor

The road hasn’t been easy by any stretch, but the Clan are set to play their first home game after riding a wave of momentum for the last month.

The squad struggled in the first three contests of the season, losing to Trinity Western and Concordia by a combined score of 6-1. Fresh faces developing chemistry with the returning team, combined with the addition of new head coach Alan Koch, translated into a rough go for the team in early August.

They seemed to have taken a step back after losing in the semi-finals of the national championship against Asuza Pacific, who went on to win the title last year.

But make no mistake, the Clan are back to their old winning ways and are staking their claim on a national title. After reeling off back-to-back wins against Evergreen State and Westmont in the first week of September, they dispatched the same Asuza team that defeated them in the nationals.

And while it was quite a feat to topple a team ranked No. 1, it’s equally impressive that SFU raked in another pair of wins on their Montana road trip two weekends ago, defeating Montana State and Great Falls by 1-0 scores. The two wins now put the team at 6-2 as they prepare to dig deep for the final month of the regular season.

Instrumental in the team’s play as of late has been 4th-year striker Justin Carvery, who scored the game-winning goal in the 85th minute in the 1-0 victory over Montana State and set up Liam Smith’s header for SFU’s first goal against Great Falls.

While the one-goal victory against Montana was a tough contest for the lads, it took extra time for the Clan to put away the Argos from Great Falls. Colin Streckmann’s penalty kick in the 100th minute of overtime was the deciding factor, as he onion-bagged the ball into the top-right corner past the Argos’ keeper.

The Great Falls game was a rough one for SFU, as the two teams combined for 30 fouls, with SFU given 10. A red card was handed to Jace Cutrer of Great Falls in the 100th minute, setting the stage for Streckmann’s winner.

“It was a very physical game against a fresh and motivated team,” said Koch after the game. “It’s never easy playing back-to-back games against a fresh team and it showed today.”

Up next for SFU is their long-awaited first home game of the season. They’ll take on Seattle University on Saturday night in the first of two contests, the last one being south of the 49th parallel. The contest will conclude SFU’s regular season.

Following the Seattle game on Fox Field, the Clan will have four days to rest up before an October 1 date with archrival UBC in Vancouver. Their next two games will be played at home.

The Clan entered last weekend with a five-game winning streak against Western Washington. Results can be found at athletics.sfu.ca.