BURNABY, B.C. – The Simon Fraser Red Leafs fell 2-0 to 14th-ranked Western Washington Saturday afternoon in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's soccer contest in Burnaby, B.C.
Tera Ziemer provided both goals in a 10-minute span to give the visiting Vikings the victory.
The result snapped SFU's two-match winning streak, after the Red Leafs recorded consecutive 2-0 home shutouts, on Oct. 1 against Montana State Billings, and on Thursday vs. Western Oregon.
Ziemer opened the scoring in the 13th minute on a free kick from 20 yards out, and then found the net again in the 23rd. From the top right corner of the 18-yard box, she put her shot just under the crossbar on left side of the net.
"We had a good second half," said SFU head coach
Annie Hamel. "Our compete level wasn't high enough in the first, and if you're going to play a team as talented and well-coached as Western Washington, that's not going to produce results. Being down 2-0 at the half, I think, was our doing, but then we came out in the second and created chances and battled better, which is a positive we can take into Thursday."
From left to right: Kaylese Callender, Jeneiva Muscio, Jazz Dev, and Eve LaFontaine. Photo by Garrett James
SFU's best scoring opportunity came in the 65th minute. Forward
Kaylese Callender found forward
Giuliana Zaurrini at the top of the penalty area with a pass. With two defenders on her, Zaurrini controlled the ball, and then quickly turned to create enough space to fire a low shot towards the right goalpost. Unfortunately for the Red Leafs, WWU goalkeeper Claire Henninger dove to her left to make an excellent fingertip save. Zaurrini led SFU (3-5-4, 2-4-2 GNAC) with two shots on Saturday.
Kaylese Callender. Photo by Garrett James
WWU (8-1-3, 7-0-1 GNAC) held a 23-4 advantage in shots towards the net, and a 10-2 edge in chances on goal. Goalkeeper
Sarah Loewen of the Red Leafs made seven saves before suffering an injury in the 70th minute on a Vikings foul.
Nicole Anderson replaced her, and recorded one save.
SFU remains in fourth place in the GNAC league standings. The top four teams at the end of the regular season will advance to the GNAC Women's Soccer Championships in Nampa, Idaho.
Kiara Buono. Photo by Garrett James
The Red Leafs are on the road next weekend with games at Montana State Billings Thursday and Seattle Pacific Saturday. The team's next home matches will take place Oct. 20 and 22.
For the latest information on SFU Athletics, visit
athletics.sfu.ca. You can also find us on social media at @SFU_Athletics.
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