BURNABY, B.C. – The SFU Red Leafs and Central Washington Wildcats drew 1-1 in their Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's soccer match Thursday night in Ellensburg.
They were locked in a scoreless stalemate for the first 80 minutes. Then SFU sophomore
Kaiden Sherwood (Vernon, B.C.) broke the deadlock with an 81st-minute goal, before Payton Vogel answered for the home team just two minutes later.
Sherwood stunned the Wildcats with her third goal of the 2023 NCAA season. She took control of the ball on the left side of the field in the Wildcats' half. Sherwood dribbled to the middle before firing a hard low shot inside the left goalpost from about 25 yards out.
In the 83rd minute, the Wildcats sent a free kick from approximately 38 yards out by the left sideline to the top of the 6-yard box where Vogel headed in the game-tying goal.
Both teams had a shot on net in the final minutes but neither could convert it into a game winner.
Goalkeeper
Sarah Loewen of Burnaby, B.C., stopped nine shots – including a half-dozen in the second half – to preserve the tie for SFU (4-4-3, 3-4-2 GNAC), which remains in fourth place in the GNAC league standings with 11 points. The Red Leafs are two points ahead of Northwest Nazarene (Idaho) for the final berth to the conference championship tournament. Central Washington has seven points (3-10-1, 2-6-1 GNAC).
Sherwood recorded five shots to lead Canada's NCAA team, while junior midfielder
Isabella Muzzolini (Maple Ridge, B.C.) had three.
Kate Smith. Photo by Jacob Thompson / Thompson Sports
The Wildcats outshot the Red Leafs 17-15, and held a 10-6 edge in attempts on net.
SFU has big match at Northwest Nazarene Saturday at 12 noon Pacific. The team will return home next week for matches against Saint Martin's (Washington) on Thursday, Oct. 26 and Western Oregon on Saturday, Oct. 28.
Online ticket links:
Oct. 26 –
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/sfu-womens-soccer-vs-saint-martins-university-tickets-680309894207
Oct. 28 –
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/sfu-womens-soccer-vs-western-oregon-university-tickets-680311900207
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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