BURNABY, B.C. – On a night where she was one of seven senior players honoured in a pre-match ceremony, forward Giuliana Zaurrini scored the game-winning goal for the Simon Fraser women's soccer team in a 2-0 shutout of the Saint Martin's (Wash.) Saints Thursday night in Burnaby, B.C. 
 
Sophomore Kate Cartier got the other Red Leafs (5-6-6, 4-5-4 GNAC) goal in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference contest that was twice delayed by dense fog, and affected by heavy rain. Goalkeeper Nicole Anderson, a senior, made four saves for her third clean sheet of the 2022 NCAA season.
 
SFU head coach Annie Hamel started all seven graduating players on Senior Night against Saint Martin's (5-9-2, 3-8-2 GNAC): Anderson, Zaurrini, defender Doreen Anane-Bediakoh, midfielder Kiara Buono, defender Jenieva Musico, and midfielders Amanda Scott and Valerie Silva.
  
"When we can get a result like tonight, and see a senior like Giuliana get a goal, you just love it," said Hamel. "The players were flying, and there were emotions. It was an ugly game, don't get me wrong, and we found a way. That's down to our players really wanting it for the seniors. It's something I really value. I really value my seniors. Anybody who gives four or five years of their lives to something is deserving of recognition. Seeing them win for the last time on their home pitch, I couldn't be prouder of everybody. The seniors really did put in a really good shift today."
 

Zaurrini opened the scoring in the 23rd minute. She intercepted an outlet pass from the SMU goalkeeper, took touch around a defender and from about 30 yards out, chipped the ball over the goalie and into the net. It was her fourth goal of the 2022 campaign. Zaurrini led her team with five shots Thursday, while sophomore midfielder Isabella Muzzolini had four.
 
Two short fog delays followed, before the Red Leafs took 1-0 advantage into halftime.
 

Cartier added the insurance goal in the 78th minute, hitting the top right corner from outside the penalty area for her third marker of the season.
 

SFU outshot the Saints 13-8 (8-4 on net) in Thursday's tightly contested battle. Each side had a half-dozen corner kicks. Soph Mendoza stopped six Red Leafs shots for Saint Martin's.
 

 
"Winning on Senior Night is a big accomplishment and creates such a special feeling," said Zaurrini. "I feel we've all grown so close since starting here as freshmen, especially in the past year. It feels so good to graduate with the best seniors and the best friends."
 

Thursday's result kept SFU (16 points) in fourth place in the GNAC standings, and ahead of Western Oregon (15 points) for the final berth to the league playoff tournament. The Wolves kept their season alive by upsetting Western Washington – the fifth-ranked team in NCAA Division II – by a score of 2-1 on Thursday to momentarily jump ahead of the Red Leafs, who then kept pace.
 

It sets the stage for a dramatic regular-season finale between SFU and Western Oregon on Saturday in Monmouth at 2 p.m. A win or a tie would send the Red Leafs to the postseason, where they would join Western Washington, Northwest Nazarene (Idaho) and Seattle Pacific in the GNAC tournament.
 
A similar situation played out last year on Burnaby Mountain. In the final match of the 2021 season, SFU beat Western Oregon in overtime with a penalty kick to clinch the fourth spot to the playoffs.
 

 
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