The Simon Fraser University varsity men’s soccer team was named the Great Northwest conference team of the week on Monday.
Since joining the Great Northwest in 2010, the men’s soccer team has excelled against conference and non-conference competition alike. The Clan made it to the NCAA Division II Final Four a season ago, and has never lost to the same conference opponent twice in one season.
With a defeat at the hands of Seattle Pacific earlier this season, SFU put that streak on the line Saturday, emerging victorious in a dramatic 1-0 double-overtime thriller that earned the Clan its fourth consecutive conference title, as well as team of the week honours.
“We had a really good battle against SPU on Saturday,” SFU head coach Alan Koch said in a prepared release. “It is always a great rivalry against them and we have a lot of respect for each others’ programs.”
Seattle Pacific kicked off its October season, handing then No. 1-ranked SFU its first loss of the season, a 2-1 result on a Falcon goal in the 79th minute.
The defeat made for a tight race in the conference, as SPU went undefeated in October and was within one point of the Clan entering Saturday’s match for first place.
“We speak to the guys about being able to control their own destiny by winning,” Koch said. “We wanted to win on Saturday and the guys went in and did the job.”
The victory over SPU was not easily earned, as it took more than 90 minutes to determine a winner. A loose ball played into the box in the 105th minute found its way to the foot of Jovan Blagojevic amongst a cluster of players. The junior midfielder tapped the ball into the net, setting off an on-field celebration as the Clan officially clinched the Great Northwest title.
“It was great to win the conference on our home soil,” Koch said on hosting the decisive match at Terry Fox Field. “You could really feel the momentum growing over the last few weeks and the new players have integrated well.”
Entering last week’s games, SFU was on fire with three-straight 7-0 victories. The Clan ran into a tough Saint Martin’s team on Thursday, capitalizing on a goal from Ryan Dhillon in the 69th minute that proved to be the game-winner.
“It was a narrow game in the end, but we had quite a few chances earlier on in the match that we didn’t finish,” Koch said on the 1-0 victory. “Give credit to SMU for making things difficult for us.”
With Simon Fraser standing as the lone member of the NCAA located outside of the United States, it is fitting that it boasts the most international roster in the conference. The Clan has players from seven different nations, including five different European countries.
Alexander Kleefeldt and Chris Bargholz hail from Germany, Magnus Kristensen is a native of Norway, Robert Hyams is from the United Kingdom, while the Swedish Johannes Hallman, and the Swiss Marco Voegeli are also valuable assets on Koch’s roster. Glenn Paden, a native of Lake Forest Park, Washington, is the lone Clan player from the United States, as the rest of the team is made up of Canadians.
“It has taken time but we feel our team has begun to gel, come together and really understand the philosophy we have in place within the program,” Koch added.
In addition to preparing his international players for the North American soccer culture, the sheer quantity of newcomers this season presented another challenge within itself.
“It was a tough year and we had to integrate so many new players,” said Koch, following the loss of 12 seniors from last season’s Div. II semifinal team. “It takes time to adjust when you lose as many great seniors as we did.”
While the Clan has had its barriers, the victories last week to clinch the GNAC title all-but guaranteed a berth into the NCAA West Region playoffs later this month.
“We are excited about the playoffs, but we still need to play Western Washington on Saturday and close out the season strong,” Koch said regarding the final game on SFU’s 2013 regular season schedule. “We take our schedule one game at a time, and once Saturday is over, we will start thinking about the postseason.”
