Burnaby, BC – Call it lucky number seven.
The SFU Clan men's soccer team (7-0, 2-0) got goals from Mamadi Camara and Kyle Jones on Saturday evening as they rolled to a 2-1 win over the Saint Martin's Saints (2-5, 1-1) on the road. The decision marks the Clan's second straight GNAC win, and seventh overall, as they continue their scintillating start to the 2016 campaign.
"That was as good a footballing performance as I can remember from this team," said SFU head coach Clint Schneider. "We didn't finish as well as we would have liked, but overall, that was a terrific showing from the guys."
Even just looking at the box score, the Clan's dominance becomes evident – SFU launched 19 shots towards SMU goalkeeper Griffin Small, while the Saints managed just seven in Clan keeper Brandon Watson's direction.
However, Schneider also gave full due to the Saints and head coach Rob Walker.
"They just have this magic about them that means they're never out of games, never done fighting," said the SFU coach. "It's a part of who their coach is, and a part of what makes that program so dangerous."
The Saints showed off their compete level late in the contest, scrapping to close a 2-0 deficit down to one with just 30 seconds remaining. It proved too late, but the Will Eldrid goal did give Schneider a bit of a fright.
"With a team like theirs, and 30 seconds left, anything can happen. I'm just glad the guys settled down quickly and rode out the win."
Before the last-minute Saints goal, the game was dominated by SFU, starting just six minutes into the contest. Freshman striker Riley Pang made a terrific hold-up play to draw a defender before feeding Adam Jones on the right flank. The Clan midfielder quickly put it into the middle of the SMU box, where Camara timed his run-on perfectly, and struck, beating Small for his fifth goal of the season.
Small settled down in the middle portion of the game, coming up with several big stops before Kyle Jones netted the SFU insurance goal in the 75th minute. After Michael North was jostled down inside the SMU area, the younger Jones brother stepped to the spot and buried it for his first goal of the season.
"Last year, not capitalizing on so many chances, this is the kind of that we might have lost. We might not get ten chances every night, but the elite teams manage to makes the ones they do get count.," remarked Schneider. "But this is different, this group is different. I've said all along that they have a chance to be something special, and if we can continue to clean up our mistakes as we go, this year could be a lot of fun."
The Clan will now get a short rest before they start preparing for the Concordia University Cavaliers (3-1-1), with the two teams scheduled for a 7:00 pm showdown on Thursday, September 24.
