Simon Fraser University opened its varsity men’s soccer season with a shutout victory over Sonoma State.
The varsity Clan scored three times in an 11-minute span midway through the first half to defeat the visiting Seawolves 3-0 in a non-conference match at Terry Fox Field on Sept. 4.
Alexander Kleefeldt opened the scoring in the 16th minute off a corner kick and two minutes later made it 2-0 on an unassisted solo effort.
Niko Schroettle tallied his first goal for the Clan, tipping in a Jovan Blagojevic free kick in the 27th minute.
“The first game is normally one of the tougher games you play because you don’t know what you’re going to get from your own group and it’s tough to get a good scout on the team you’re playing against,” said SFU head coach Alan Koch in a school press release. “We scheduled a game against a tough team and they made it difficult for us. We’re obviously very happy to get a positive result.”
Sophomore keeper Brandon Watson earned his shutout, stopping a late first-half penalty kick.
“It’s good to get the win and I thought we played well,” said Watson in the release. “Last year, we struggled a bit at the start to get a clean sheet, but I think we are a little more sound defensively this year with a strong returning group from last season and obviously it showed on the field.
The SFU women’s soccer team dropped its non-conference season opener 1-0 to visiting Hawaii Hilo Vulcans at Terry Fox Field on Sunday.
Jessica Marano of Burnaby had two shots at goal, including a header that went just wide of the post in the opening two minutes of play.
Hawaii Hilo struck for the game’s only goal six minutes into the second half, beating freshman keeper Rriya Sandhu on a second-chance rebound. Sandhu stopped four shots in the Clan goal.
The women played Hawaii Hilo again at Terry Fox Field on Tuesday at 5 p.m. The men’s Clan also played the visiting Vulcans in a later game, beginning at 7:30 p.m.
