LANGLEY, B.C. – The 25th-ranked Simon Fraser Red Leafs and the Montana State Billings Yellowjackets each earned a point Friday night after a 2-2 draw in Langley, B.C.

The Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's soccer match was originally scheduled for Thursday at the SFU Stadium at Terry Fox Field, but was postponed to Friday because of snow. Then dense fog covered the SFU Burnaby Mountain campus as kickoff approached, forcing a relocation of the game to Noel Booth Community Park in Langley. It was called with three minutes to go after high winds knocked out power to the venue.

All the scoring came in the first half. Defender Niko Papakyriakopoulos posted another highlight-reel goal on a set piece in the eighth minute. On a free kick, he fired a long shot from outside the penalty area under the crossbar to put the Red Leafs (10-5-1, 7-3-1 GNAC) ahead. It was his third goal of the season.

Seven minutes later, Callum Bryan tied the game for the Yellowjackets (5-8-3, 3-5-3 GNAC), finding the back of the net with a hard shot from about 25 yards out.

Forward Alan Soto made it 2-1 for Simon Fraser with a stunning goal in the 32nd minute, when he shot the ball over the MSUB goalkeeper from midfield. It tied him with forward Devin O'Hea for the team lead in goals with six.
 

The Yellowjackets levelled the score at 2-2 in the 43rd minute. Pascal Pisarek knocked in a loose ball in the six-yard box off a corner kick.

While each side created opportunities in the second, neither could find the winning goal before the contest was ended early.

SFU outshot MSUB 20-17, while the visiting Yellowjackets had more chances on target, 8-4. The Red Leafs had a 5-3 edge in corner kicks.

O'Hea had five shots to lead the host team, and assisted on Soto's goal. Goalkeeper Justyn Sandhu made six saves in the game, while his counterpart Jeremi Campagnolo had two stops in the MSUB net.

The Red Leafs will finish out the 2022 NCAA regular season on Sunday with a 10:30 a.m. Senior Day home game against Saint Martin's (Wash.) at the SFU Stadium at Terry Fox Field.

With 22 points in the GNAC league standings, the Red Leafs are three behind first place Northwest Nazarene (Idaho). Both teams have one match remaining. The Red Leafs can still tie for the GNAC regular season title, but the Crusaders currently hold the advantage on the third head-to-head tiebreaker (goal differential in all conference games) for the league's NCAA tournament automatic qualifier berth.

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