BURNABY, B.C. –
Justus Meier's first university goal propelled the Simon Fraser men's soccer team to a hard-fought 1-0 battle over the Montana State Billings Yellowjackets Thursday in Burnaby.
It was SFU's first regular-season home game since November 2019.
With the triumph, SFU improved to 5-5 overall in 2021, and 2-2 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. The squad's first nine regular-season contests were played away from the brand-new SFU Stadium at Terry Fox Field.
After a shutout victory by the women's soccer team earlier Thursday, the men looked to follow in their footsteps.
From the first opening whistle, SFU came ready to compete. Just over three minutes into the game,
Simone Masi sent a pass to Meier, a freshman midfielder from Hövelhof, Germany, who weaved his way through the Billings defence, and delivered a quick strike from the top of the box and into the net, giving SFU the early lead.
With both teams registering more than 10 shots, the defences had to be on high alert. SFU goalkeeper
Aidan Bain played an outstanding game, finishing with a total of nine saves. MSU forward Halil Yilmaz registered four shots on Bain, but none were able to make it past the senior goalie.
The intensity started to rise in the second half as both sides pushed for a positive result. The teams registered three yellow cards each in the second half, as well as a red card to a member of SFU's coaching staff in the final seconds of the game.
SFU finished the night with 11 shots;
Connor Glennon led the way with three.
The lone goal at the start of the match was all the home team needed to send Billings away with a loss on Thursday.
Simon Fraser continues its four-game home stretch with a Socktoberfest match against Seattle Pacific at 7 p.m. Saturday at the SFU Stadium at Terry Fox Field. Fans will have a chance to win SFU-branded socks.
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