Soccer - M | 8/18/2015 11:04:00 PM
BURNABY, BC – The Simon Fraser University Clan played to a 1-1 draw with University of Fraser Valley Cascades in a preseason exhibition match Tuesday evening on Terry Fox Field.
It is the second day of preseason training for SFU. The Clan practiced twice on Monday and again Tuesday morning before taking on the Cascades in an exhibition match. While it was the first opportunity for Clan first-year head coach
Clint Schneider to see his team in action the games does not count against his or the Clan's record.
Schneider liked what he saw.
"At times we played well and we were unlucky not to have more goals and I liked how we managed the game and controlled the tempo at times," said Schneider. "I think it is clear that we have a lot of upside with this squad."
Simon Fraser fell behind in the 11
th minute when UFV senior midfielder Kree Bryne blasted a shot past Clan keeper
Brandon Watson on a quick counter attack.
The Clan tied the score at 1-1 in the 72
nd minute when freshman midfielder
Dzenan Bezdrob split the defence to notch his first collegiate goal. Bezdrob, who graduated from Sutherland Secondary in North Vancouver, came on as a second half sub.
"Individually I liked how some of the first year players stepped up and played much better than I could have imagined," said Schneider. "We have had three training sessions and now a game so we have pushed these guys hard and I think we found out a lot about ourselves and the impact the new players can have."
"I think we are deep squad and now it is my job to manage the guys and their personalities to make sure I get the most out of them," he added. "We are big and athletic and we have some really special players and now it's a matter of putting it all together through the preseason."
Schneider replaced Alan Koch, now head coach of Whitecaps FC 2 (WFC2), the new USL PRO team of Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Schneider coached with Koch for all five seasons the Clan has competed in NCAA. He is just the fifth head coach in the history of the SFU men's soccer program.
Simon Fraser is Canada's only NCAA team while the Cascades play in Canadian Interuniversity Sport.
Training sessions continue all this week for the Clan with another exhibition match scheduled for Thursday at 7:30 pm on Terry Fox Field against Kwantlen Polytechnic University.
