BURNABY, B.C. – Michael Hennessy (Vancouver), Koji Poon (Vancouver), and Devin O'Hea (North Vancouver, B.C.) scored second-half goals to spark the SFU Red Leafs to a 3-0 shutout of the Western Oregon Wolves in a matchup of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference's top two teams.
 
The performance inside the SFU Stadium on Terry Fox Field extended the Red Leafs' win streak to four matches and their unbeaten streak to seven. SFU (7-2-2, 4-0-1 GNAC) has scored 14 goals in its last four contests. The Red Leafs and Wolves (8-3-1, 4-1-1) both have 13 points from conference play, but SFU is undefeated, has a game in hand and owns the season-series win after a 2-2 draw earlier in the year.

"We had some moments in the first half where we were unable to play the ball out of the back the way we wanted to," said SFU head coach Clint Schneider. "We were losing the ball in bad spots. When that happens, the momentum can change. They had a bit of momentum, and they're a good side. You can't allow teams to get into games.
 
"That being said, we made a couple of individual changes and had some people step up. We had five freshmen on the field in the second half. It is a big testament to the young guys in our program who have done a tremendous job getting themselves ready to play at a high level in the NCAA. Credit to players like Devi Romero, who haven't played all season long. He came in at a big moment in the game and changed it for us. He was excellent. I'm very proud of him and very proud of the group."
 

The Red Leafs opened the scoring in the 49th minute. O'Hea, a senior forward, stole the ball from WOU in the left corner, and found Hennessy at the top of the 18-yard box. From the left side of the area, Hennessy curled a beautiful shot into the top right corner.
 
O'Hea was the catalyst again on SFU's second goal, in the 57th minute. He dribbled the ball past four Wolves to deliver a hard shot from the left side of the six-yard box. WOU goalkeeper Juan Suarez made the save but couldn't control the rebound, which the freshman Poon knocked into the net to increase his team-leading goal total to eight. He has also scored in four consecutive matches. Poon is currently tied for second in all of NCAA Division II for goals by a rookie.
 
O'Hea then found the net himself to cap off the victory. He took a pass from junior midfielder Mads Poulsson (Oslo, Norway) and moved into the box before firing a hard, low shot just inside the left goalpost in the 81st. Both he and Hennessy are tied for second on the SFU roster with five goals this season.
 

 
Senior goalkeeper Justyn Sandhu (Richmond, B.C.) made five saves in the Red Leafs' net for his fifth shutout in 2023. His best stop came in the 56th minute with his team up just a goal. After an SFU turnover, WOU's Gabriel Silva had the ball at the penalty spot and hit a low shot to the right side, but Sandhu dove to his left to make a terrific one-handed save to keep his team in front. Just a minute later, Poon scored for Canada's NCAA team.
 
The Red Leafs outshot the Wolves 21-9 and held an 8-6 edge in chances on net.
 
SFU will play at Saint Martin's (Washington) Thursday before returning home to host Montana State Billings Saturday at 6 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/sfu-mens-soccer-vs-montana-state-university-billings-tickets-677058900397
 
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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