BURNABY, B.C. – Freshman
Koji Poon (Vancouver) started his NCAA men's soccer career in style Thursday, scoring both SFU goals in the Red Leafs' 2-1 comeback win over Stanislaus State (California) in Santa Barbara, California. The neutral-site, non-conference matchup was the 2023 season opener for both squads, and the first contest of the 14th Heritage Club Classic, hosted by Westmont College.
SFU was down 1-0 in the second half when Poon scored twice in three minutes to give Canada's NCAA team the victory. His first goal came in the 60th minute as he completed an excellent sequence with a header from the top right corner of the six-yard box into the left side of the net. The play started with an
Ali Zohar (senior midfielder, Surrey, B.C.) free kick pass to junior defender
Nicolai Placzek (Breisach, Germany), who sent a ball to junior midfielder
Isak Strand (Glumslöv, Sweden) at the right edge of the 18-yard box. Strand headed the ball towards the goal where Poon got to it after slipping past his defender.
Another super rookie,
Michael Hennessy (Vancouver) helped create the opportunity on the game-winning goal. He poked the ball away from a dribbling Stanislaus State player deep in the Warriors' half of the field. Senior forward
Devin O'Hea (North Vancouver) got possession and then sent a through ball to Poon who carried it into the penalty area and scored high from the right side.
Michael Hennessy. Photo by Paul Yates
Poon recorded three shots to lead SFU, while Hennessy had two. O'Hea had one shot, an 80th-minute header inside the six-yard box that was stopped by Robby Rosas of Stanislaus. Senior goalkeeper
Justyn Sandhu (Richmond, B.C.) made two saves – both in the first half – to earn the win.
The Warriors opened the scoring with a 32nd-minute goal by Tyler Tipton, who slotted in a low shot from the top right side of the penalty area. Stanislaus State had 53 per cent of the possession in the opening half and outshot the Red Leafs 6-3. SFU did a good job to take control after halftime, earning six corner kicks to the Warriors' two, and outshooting them 5-2. In total, both teams had eight shots in the game, while the Red Leafs enjoyed an 8-4 advantage in corners.
In addition to Hennessy and Poon, freshmen twins
Kyle Torresan and
Ryan Torresan (North Vancouver) made their NCAA debuts as late-game substitutions, while Univ. of Victoria transfer
Hamish Ogden (Port Moody, B.C.) started the game at midfielder in his first SFU appearance.
The Red Leafs will be back on the pitch Saturday with a 2 p.m. non-conference contest against host Westmont to wrap up the Heritage Club Classic.
The team's first home games will be Sept. 7 and 9. Season tickets can be purchased here:
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/sfu-red-leafs-season-passes-men-womens-soccer-and-volleyball-tickets-680344246957
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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