OLYMPIA, Wash. – The Simon Fraser women's soccer team lost 3-0 to Saint Martin's (Wash.) in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference matchup Thursday afternoon in Olympia, Wash., but the team will clinch a playoff spot with a victory in its final game Saturday at SFU Stadium. For SFU, win and they're in.
Thursday's loss left the squad (4-10-2, 5-7-1 GNAC) with 16 points in the league standings as it tries to clinch a berth to the 2021 GNAC Women's Soccer Championship. The team is in fourth place, and currently holds down the final spot to the tournament. But SFU is just one point ahead of Western Oregon after the Wolves drew 1-1 at Western Washington Thursday. Montana State Billings trails SFU by two points.
SFU's playoff fate will be determined Saturday when it hosts Western Oregon in the regular season finale in Burnaby. Saturday's game is also Senior Day, where five players (
Gabrielle Brissette,
Paige Gingras,
Kayla Goncalves,
Emma Lobo, and
Danae Robillard) will be honoured in the final home game of their careers. A victory and playoff berth would be an incredible send-off.
Thursday's match was delayed by about half an hour and moved to the Lacey-Thurston County Recreation Complex in Olympia due to unplayable conditions at SMU.
After the first whistle finally blew, the host Saints opened the scoring in the 26th minute and then added two second-half markers (47th and 62nd minutes) to earn the win.
Saint Martin's had more shots (9-7) and a 6-2 edge in shots on goal, while SFU had five corner kicks to four for the home team.
Giuliana Zaurrini and
Kiara Buono were the SFU players to hit the net with their shots. Both attempts came in the second half as the team tried to mount a comeback. Down 3-0, a 69th-minute corner kick was the first of four in four minutes for SFU, with Buono's chance on goal coming after the third. However, the visitors could not find the back of the net.
The GNAC Women's Soccer Championships, hosted by Western Washington, will take place Nov. 11-13 and at Harrington Field in Bellingham.
Follow women's soccer on Twitter and Instagram at @sfuwsoc. Fans can also keep up with all of SFU Athletics on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter at @SFU_Athletics.
--@SFU_Athletics--
