BURNABY, BC - Talk about turning things around.
The No. 4-ranked SFU Clan men's soccer team (8-0-0, 3-0-0) overcame an early deficit to win big on Thursday night, beating the Concordia (Oregon) Cavaliers (3-2-2, 0-1-1) 5-1 at Terry Fox Field.
The game served as a coming out party for freshman striker
Riley Pang, as the rookie notched his first collegiate two-goal game in the win.
Mamadi Camara also picked up two goals, and is now up to a career-best seven goals on the season, while
Adam Jones netted a goal and pair of assists in the win.
The Clan trailed 1-0 just seven minutes in. Off a corner kick, Concordia's Trent Lowe created just enough separation to make contact with the ball, heading it behind SFU goalkeeper
Brandon Watson.
However, the resiliency that has become a trademark of this SFU team reared its head again, as three minutes later, the Clan had drawn level. Running onto a spectacular long ball from
Robert Hyams, Jones deftly stepped into the box and didn't hesitate, putting a bullet past Cavaliers goalkeeper Grant Alcorn.
Pang was in the right place at the right time to put the Clan up 2-1 five minutes later. Coming in off the right wing,
Ryan Dhillon showed off some impressive footwork to cut into the middle before letting go from 20 yards out, clanging it off the left post. The freshman striker was ready, and tapped the rebound into the open cage behind Alcorn.
SFU's third goal, with 22 minutes left in the opening frame, was all Camara. The sophomore first used his strength to fight off a defender for a loose ball in the Cavaliers end, then spun and flashed his quick feet to find space in the middle of the pitch before firing a low strike from just outside the Concordia box. Alcorn couldn't get a hand on it, as it flew into the lower right-hand corner.
Well into the second half, Hyams,
Adam Jones, and Camara combined to lock down the win. First, Hyams played a smart header into midfield, where Jones took it off the bounce, turned, and picked out a streaking Camara with a terrific lob pass. The sophomore striker finished in style – with a defender on his back, Camara chased down the ball, headed it forward, then volleyed it past Alcorn from in tight.
Jones capped off the day's scoring with a goal in the game's 64-minute mark, making a simple cut in off the right wing and letting it fly from 25 yards out. The strike was picture-perfect, just out of Alcorn's reach as it sailed into the far side of the net.
The Clan will now have a week to rest up before heading down to Nampa, ID, to take on the Northwest Nazarene Crusaders (4-3-1, 1-1-0) on October 6, with kickoff slated for 3:30 pm.
