BURNABY, B.C. – A blistering start and a brace from Kate Cartier (Kelowna, B.C.) powered the Simon Fraser Red Leafs to an emphatic 3-1 win over the visiting Saint Martin's Saints in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's soccer contest on Thursday evening.
 
Sarah Caravatta (Coquitlam, B.C.) notched the Red Leafs' other marker in front of the home crowd on Coquitlam Metro-Ford Soccer Club Night inside the SFU Stadium at Terry Fox Field. Sarah Loewen (Burnaby, B.C.) delivered a brilliant eight-save performance in the Red Leafs' goal.
 
"Saint Martin's gave us their best tonight and I was very pleased with the performance," said interim SFU head coach Carlo Basso. "I thought we could have managed the game better near the end, but we defended well when we needed to."
 
It only took two minutes for Cartier to draw first blood. After sophomore Saints defender Sam Bailey took down Cartier just inside the visitors' 18-yard box, Cartier herself stepped to the spot. She made it look easy, putting a bullet into the bottom left corner behind SMU goalkeeper Flavia Burrell.
 

Just two minutes later, freshman Caravatta made her mark. As sophomore Kaiden Sherwood (Vernon, B.C.) delivered a long cross in from the right flank, the ball soared over the head of the seemingly intended target, sophomore Chelsea Crocq (Calgary). However, Caravatta was racing in right behind, and the forward blasted a header that hit Burrell's hands so hard it bounced up and over the Saints 'keeper to make it 2-0. It was the second goal of the NCAA campaign for the former Coquitlam Metro-Ford star.
 
Cartier and the Red Leafs essentially put the game out of reach just nine minutes into the second half. On a corner from freshman Alyssa Clark (Port Coquitlam, B.C.), Cartier showed off her own ability to win the ball in the air. Outmuscling a Saints defender en route to her mark, Cartier made contact amidst a crowded box and placed the header into the bottom right corner of the SMU net. She leads Canada's NCAA team with four goals in 2023.
 

Jamine Biava pulled one back for the Saints in the 80th minute, firing a free kick to the top right corner, but that two-score deficit was as close as the Saints could manage.
 
In goal, Loewen was phenomenal for the Red Leafs. Her eight stops are Loewen's third-highest mark of the season, behind only her nine-save effort against Central Washington last week and a 10-save performance at Western Washington last month.

With the win, SFU (5-4-4, 4-4-3 GNAC) pulled into a tie with Western Oregon for third place in the league standings with the top four earning a spot to the GNAC Championships.

The Wolves hold the edge after a 1-0 victory last month in Monmouth. On Saturday, Oct. 28, the two teams will face off on the turf inside the SFU Stadium at Terry Fox Field. The opening whistle is slated for 1 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at: 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.

#RepTheLeaf