BURNABY, BC - The SFU Clan women's soccer team (3-3-1, 1-2-0) dropped their second straight contest on Thursday evening, falling 2-1 to the Seattle Pacific Falcons at home.
The Clan got their team-high fifth goal from freshman star
Emma Pringle in the loss, while goalkeeper
Priya Sandhu was busy, making eight saves.
Just three minutes into the contest, a quick counter saw SFU push the ball up to the rookie around 30 yards out from the Falcons' goal. Instead of making a run, Pringle caught both the SPU defense and goalkeeper Molly Stinson off-guard by unleashing a bomb from distance, which dipped just below the latter's outstretched arms to find the back of the goal.
An unfortunate bounce for SFU drew the Falcons even midway through the first half. After challenging and getting the better of an onrushing Kasey Reeve, a large rebound left Sandhu out of position. SPU's Maddie Krauss made no mistake, sliding the ball into the empty cage.
In the closing minutes of the opening stanza, the Falcons took a 2-1 lead on a string of errors from the Clan. Trying to clear the ball from deep in her own end, Teagan MacManus accidentally put a high-arcing ball back towards Sandhu. The goalkeeper came out to catch it, but misjudged the angle and had to watch as the ball sailed behind her, where SPU's Emma Young was there to tap it in uncontested.
Olivia Aguiar had the best chance at an equalizer for the Clan in the second half. Coming down the right flank at the 70-minute mark, the captain took a lovely ball from Pringle in stride and fired on a charging Stinson from 10 yards out. Aguiar did well to pick up the rebound on her initial shot, but fired wide right of the SPU cage on her second attempt.
Despite a few close calls in the game's final minutes, the Clan couldn't find a way to solve Stinson.
SFU will now turn their focus towards the Western Oregon Wolves, who will make their way down to Terry Fox Field this Saturday, October 1. The Clan will be looking to rebound as the two sides are scheduled to get going at 12:00 pm.
