BURNABY, B.C. – The SFU Red Leafs women's soccer team gave Mackenzie Almeida (Mississauga, Ont.) and Anjali Sandhu (Surrey, B.C.) a proper sendoff on Senior Night.
 
In the final home game for those two players on Thursday night, the Red Leafs came one step closer to earning their spot in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships, taking a 1-0 win over the visiting Montana State Billings Yellowjackets inside the SFU Stadium at Terry Fox Field. The Red Leafs are now 6-5-4 overall, and 5-5-3 with 18 points in conference play.
 
"It felt like a playoff game out there," said interim SFU head coach Carlo Basso. "We knew this was a big night given the standings. I don't think we were at our best but we competed until the final whistle and found a way to win. It was a fantastic way to celebrate our seniors and thank our fans who have been so supportive all year."
 
Basso's team, currently sitting in the fourth and final playoff spot, remain just one win above the Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks, who took a 4-1 victory over the Saint Martin's Saints on Saturday evening to get to 4-5-4 (16 points) in conference play.
 
SFU broke open the early deadlock just past the 18-minute mark. Taking a clean breakout pass down the left flank from Kate Cartier (Kelowna, B.C.), freshman Kiera Scott (Coquitlam, B.C.) took on a defender, pushing deep into Yellowjackets territory before delivering a beautiful cross towards the middle of the pitch. Near the left post, fellow rookie Sarah Caravatta (Coquitlam, B.C.) was in perfect position to convert, deflecting the ball past the outstretched MSUB goalkeeper Tuva Sallvin.
 
Junior Mikayla Tupper (Langley, B.C.) came within inches of putting SFU up by two with just 20 minutes left in the contest. As a lofted ball approached Yellowjackets defender Sunny Bennion towards the top of her own 18-yard box, the SFU junior challenged aggressively, managing to strip Bennion before racing ahead. Tupper, with Bennion hounding her, let go of a rocket that came within inches of the right post.
 
Sophomore Sarah Loewen (Burnaby, B.C.) was again perfect on the evening, making five saves as part of her seventh clean sheet of the season. As good as Loewen was, the SFU defence also did well to prevent high-quality scoring opportunities, as of the 13 shots MSUB attempted, just those five found the mark.


 
Almeida and Sandhu were honoured with family and teammates before the opening kickoff Thursday.
 
"It's definitely tough not being able to be on the field and contributing athletically, but I want to thank my team for fighting for Anjali and I," said Almeida. "They did amazing and left their hearts out on the field today. I couldn't ask for a better team or coaching staff."
 
Both players were presented with a framed jersey from their time with the SFU program.
 
"Tonight was truly an amazing night with the best people I could ever ask for," said Sandhu. "Everyone played their heart out to get their seniors this win tonight and for that I am forever grateful. This entire team and coaching staff will always hold a very special place in my heart."
 


With the triumph, SFU still controls its own destiny – win or tie the final game of the regular season this Saturday, and the Red Leafs will be in the GNAC playoffs next week. If they lose, they will need Northwest Nazarene to fall or tie in its regular season finale against the Western Oregon Wolves, who are 5-5-4 and currently hold the third seed in the league standings.
 
SFU's final regular season showdown will be a tall task, as they will face the Seattle Pacific Falcons (11-2-4, 8-0-4 GNAC), who clinched the GNAC regular season title Thursday, on the road at Seattle's Interbay Stadium. The two sides will clash at 5 p.m. this Saturday, November 4.

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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