BURNABY, B.C. -- Freshman midfielder Kate Cartier placed the ball on the right side of the left corner flag, took five steps back, set herself up, and delivered a mesmerizing goal directly from a corner kick to give Simon Fraser its only tally Thursday in a 2-1 loss to No. 8-ranked Western Washington University in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's soccer league opener for both teams.

Cartier's goal stood as the only one in the game until the 82nd minute, when WWU defender Halle Noel deflected the ball into the net off a free kick located just outside the penalty box. Western Washington scored its second goal three minutes later on a Grace Eversaul header to give the Vikings the 2-1 lead and eventual win.

The game was a hard-fought battle between the two rivals, with the visitors putting on pressure in the second half and scoring on two set pieces. The shots towards goal were 16-3 in favour of Western Washington. The Vikings had seven corners in the game, while SFU had one.


 

SFU made its one corner count on the scoresheet in an unbelievable way, though, as fans leapt to their feet and cheered in unison when they witnessed Cartier's goal. It was the freshman's first in her collegiate career, and the first regular season SFU women's soccer marker in the brand new SFU Stadium at Terry Fox Field. Cartier used her left foot to curl the ball over all the players crowding the net, above the outstretched hands of WWU goaltender Natalie Dierickx, and into the far right corner.

"It was actually kind of funny 'cause she set that up on her left foot, which is not her dominant foot," said SFU head coach Annie Hamel. "Carlo (Basso), my assistant coach, was like 'What is she doing?' and I said, 'She's being confident.' That's what confidence can do. You can have magical moments like that."
 

Although SFU was unable to fend off the Vikings' attack in the late minutes of the game, coach Hamel says she is proud of her young team's effort despite the heartbreaking result.

"A lot of players played 90 minutes today and they gave it everything they had…I'm really proud of the group" continued Hamel. "Come tomorrow, we're switching the focus to SMU and we'll go again."

SFU (0-4-1, 0-1 GNAC) will look to bounce back on Saturday, Sept. 25 when it hosts Saint Martin's University at 12 noon at the SFU Stadium at Terry Fox Field. Western Washington, now 4-0-2 (1-0-0 in GNAC play), will play Western Oregon Saturday 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--