Box Score Burnaby, BC – A lone lapse early in the contest provided Simon Fraser with the only goal it needed for a 1-0 upset of seventh-ranked and previously undefeated Seattle Pacific on Saturday in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's soccer clash at Terry Fox Field.
The Falcons (6-1-2) fell for the first time in 2015, halting an eight-game unbeaten streak. Their league ledger moved to 2-1-2.
SPU swept last year's season series from the Clan en route to the 2014 GNAC championship. That stopped Simon Fraser's run of four consecutive league crowns from 2010-13.
"Simon Fraser is a really tough place to play," said SPU coach
Mark Collings. "I don't really care what their record is. They play hard and it's a tough game."
Just 14:24 into the first half, Simon Fraser midfielder Calvin Opperman delivered a perfect through ball to fellow midfielder Camara from the top left corner of the box. Though Camara was sandwiched thoroughly between two defenders, Opperman put the necessary touch on the ball to lead Camara in stride through the defenders.
The pass put SPU goalkeeper
Cody Lang in an unfavorable situation. Left one-on-one with the formidable midfielder, Lang gave a valiant diving effort towards the ball. But Camara was able to read Lang's positioning and finish the play with a deft delivery into the center of the net.
"We fell asleep for 30 seconds," Collings described. "Good teams make you pay and they did. They finished a chance.
"Simon Fraser had a throw-in and we were late to close a guy down. We got caught ball-watching and the guy slipped in behind us."
Though Simon Fraser took more shots, 15-8, the Falcons had the edge in high-percentage looks with six attempts directly on goal to five for SFU.
Five of SPU's shots on goal came during the second half, but they were all stopped by goalkeeper Brandon Watson. The game's final attempt, a shot by SPU defender
Bryson Pavel, was saved by Watson with 1:16 showing on the clock.
The second half saw each team get noticeably more intense. The Clan were shown four yellow cards, all of them after halftime, and the Falcons were carded twice.
"It was a pretty choppy game. I don't think it's the best brand of soccer that either team has ever played. But that's unfortunately the way it goes," Collings said.
SPU had numerous chances to equalize the score, particularly in the realm of corner kicks. The visitors served six corners to SFU's four, yet none of those found their intended target.
In the closing minutes of the game, SPU earned a corner kick opportunity in which midfielder
Chaz Jenkins had a bead on the ball while approaching the left hand side of the 6-yard box. Jenkins leaped for the ball, but it sailed two inches above his head.
Lang stopped four shots while his Crusaders counterpart, Watson, kept SPU off the scoreboard with six saves.
The Clan (3-2-3) improved to 2-1-2 in GNAC games.
The Falcons remain on the road for a pair of games next week. They visit Montana State Billings on Thursday before traveling to Bismarck, N.D. for a clash with U-Mary on Saturday.
SPU got a 2-1 win at Western Washington on Thursday, but was held to draws in the preceding two games.
Collings plans to emphasize the fundamentals of Falcons soccer when the team returns to practice on Monday.
"We got away tonight from what we like to do. We got caught up in the emotion and the pace of the game and didn't really play the way we need for us to be successful. We have to go back and regroup a little bit."
NCAA MEN'S SOCCERSaturday, Oct. 3, 2015Terry Fox Field / Burnaby, B.C. at Simon Fraser 1, (#7) Seattle Pacific 0 Scoring – 1, SF, Mamadi Camara (Calvin Opperman), 14:24.
Shots – SPU 8, SF 15
Saves – SPU 4 (
Cody Lang), SF 6 (Brandon Watson).
Corner kicks – SPU 6, SF 4.
Fouls – SPU 14, SF 19.
Offsides – SPU 4, SF 1.
RecordsSeattle Pacific 6-1-2, 2-1-2 GNAC
Simon Fraser 3-2-3, 2-1-2 GNAC
Next SPU men's gameSeattle Pacific at Montana State Billings
Thursday, Oct. 8, 3:00 p.m.
Yellowjacket Field / Billings, Mont.
