BURNABY, B.C. – Junior forward Mikayla Tupper (Langley, B.C.) scored twice to lead the SFU Red Leafs women's soccer team to a 4-0 shutout of the Central Washington Wildcats Saturday afternoon inside the SFU Stadium at Terry Fox Field.
 
The result of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference matchup was the Red Leafs' largest margin of victory since a 5-0 triumph at Montana State Billings on Oct. 25, 2018.
 
After a strong opening half on SFU's Women's Soccer Community Day, which saw junior midfielder Kate Cartier (Kelowna, B.C.) score on a penalty kick, the Red Leafs (4-2-2, 3-2-1 GNAC) exploded for three more goals in the second.
 
"I'm extremely proud of the group," said SFU interim coach Carlo Basso. "The players have been putting in a tremendous amount of effort and it is great to see the hard work is paying off. We know we still have a lot to improve on, but the group made another big step today."
 
Tupper won a clearance at the top of the 18-yard box and was knocked over by a CWU defender when she tried to advance the ball. A penalty kick was awarded, and Cartier – in the 16th minute – converted from 12 yards out with a low shot to the left side of the net.
 
Just eight minutes later, Cartier, who has previously scored directly from a corner kick, nearly repeated the feat by hitting the top of the crossbar on a corner.
 
The Wildcats had their best scoring opportunity of the day two minutes later. From outside the penalty area, Casey Park struck her shot flush off the crossbar near the right corner.
 
SFU went into halftime ahead 1-0, before Tupper put the game away with her first two goals as a Red Leaf.
 
In the 52nd minute, freshman midfielder Alyssa Clark (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) sent a lead pass from her own half of the field towards the left side of the CWU penalty area. Tupper ran onto the ball, cut inside and fired a low shot inside the left post to make it 2-0.
 
Six minutes after that, Tupper stole the ball from a Wildcats defender in the CWU 18-yard box and scored a goal similar to her first.
 
Chelsea Crocq, a sophomore midfielder from Calgary, rounded out the scoring with a 74th-minute goal. Freshman winger Katelyn Magdalinski (Pitt Meadows, B.C.) intercepted a pass in the attacking half, and quickly moved the ball towards the opposition net. From the right side of the penalty area, Magdalinski sent a pass across the area to Crocq, who slotted her shot into the net by the left goalpost.
 

The Red Leafs outshot the Wildcats 20-8.
 
Sophomore Sarah Loewen (Burnaby, B.C.) made four saves to earn her fifth shutout of the season, the most by an SFU goalkeeper since Nicole Anderson recorded five in 2018.
 
The Red Leafs will host Seattle Pacific (Thursday) and Western Washington next week. Both games are slated to begin at 6 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased at the following links:
SPU: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/sfu-womens-soccer-vs-seattle-pacific-university-tickets-680302301497
WWU: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/sfu-womens-soccer-vs-western-washington-university-tickets-680307216197

- with files from Tiffani Martinez

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