The No. 3-ranked Simon Fraser University men’s soccer team clinched the Great Northwest Conference championship with a 4-0 win over Northwest Nazarene Saturday evening on Burnaby’s Terry Fox Field.
While the game stood scoreless for nearly one whole half, the host Clan were full marks for the win.
Adam Jones’ seventh marker of the season stood up as the game-winner, coming with eight minutes left in the opening half.
Free kicks converted by Magnus Kristensen, in the 65th minute, and Kyle Jones, just four minutes later, gave SFU a solid 3-0 lead with about 20 minutes to play.
Rounding out the scoring was Brendan Shaw, who iced it in the final minute as Simon Fraser outshot Northern Nazarene 27-7 on the day. Brandon Watson picked up his eighth shutout of the year – setting a new GNAC record with his 30th of his career.
The victory at home extended the team’s home unbeaten streak to a conference record 18 matches. Overall, SFU is unbeaten in its last 21 matches and were selected the Red Lion/GNAC team of the week.
The Clan (13-0-2 overall, 9-0-2 GNAC) is one of only three unbeaten teams left in the NCAA Division 2 circuit.
In the national rankings, Simon Fraser moved back up to No. 3 in the NSCAA coaches poll this week. They had been ranked as high as No. 2 this year in the national poll.
SFU is No. 1 in the NCAA West Region rankings, with the top six teams in the rankings at the end of the regular season advancing to the NCAA West Regional tournament.
Simon Fraser plays road contests at Western Washington on Nov. 3 and Seattle Pacific on Nov. 5 to close out the regular season.
Midfielder gives caps a lift
Burnaby’s Edris Najm has settled in nicely with the Capilano Blues in his inaugural season in the PacWest league.
The midfielder, a graduate of Byrne Creek, opened the scoring for No. 1-ranked Capilano on Saturday, keying a run that wouldn’t stop until the squad successfully repeated as PacWest provincial champions with a 4-2 win over Douglas College.
Najm scored just two minutes into the final to put the underdog Royals on their heels. Teammates Keith Jackson and Kristian Yi-Hietanan made it 3-0 before the game was 30 minutes old.
Although Douglas College posted a pair of goals in the second half despite losing a player to a red card, the Blues locked it up on Jackson’s second of the night.
A day earlier, Najm again needed only two minutes to put Capilano in the lead, sparking the team to their 5-2 semifinal win.
For his efforts, Najm was named the Top Midfielder of the tournament, while Jackson was selected the MVP.
Douglas had advanced to the final by upsetting No. 2 seed Vancouver Island 3-2 in penalty kicks.
Both Capilano and Douglas now advance to the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association national championships, Nov. 9 to 12 in Fort McMurray, Alta.
