Burnaby, BC - The SFU Clan men's soccer won a tight game over Montana State University Billings this afternoon at Terry Fox Field.  The 1-0 victory keeps the Clan’s undefeated record intact.

The game was an intense affair from start to finish with a total of five cards handed out this afternoon.

The first came early when MSUB’s Thomas Chameraud received a yellow card in just the fifth minute of play.

SFU's Michael Winter then opened the scoring in the 11th minute.  His third goal off the season came on a header after receiving the ball from Matt Besuschko.  

MSUB’s first shot on net didn’t come until the 38th minute when Marco Rosales put the ball on net, forcing SFU goalkeeper Sheldon Steenhuis to make his first save of the game.

With time ticking down in the first half, the Clan tried to expand their lead, putting pressure on the MSUB goalkeeper, first with a shot from Carlo Basso and then a Jovan Blagojevic shot that went off the crossbar.  SFU could not convert though, and they settled for a 1-0 lead at the half.

The second half brought more physicality and less scoring chances.
 
Shortly after the half began, in the 48th minute, Chris Bargholz was sent off with a red card, forcing SFU to play a man down for the rest of the afternoon.

While the Clan was able to maintain pressure for most of the second half, despite being a man down, MSUB got some chances to tie it up late.  

In the final seconds of the game, Thomas Sheets put a shot on goal that might have been heading in but Steenhuis got a finger on it, deflecting the ball wide right of the net.

Steenhuis made two saves in the victory while his counterpart from MSUB, Eion Hurley made six.

“I thought we came out really strong in the first half,” said Head Coach Alan Koch.  “We were playing a man done for most of the second half but we kept attacking.  Today’s game was certainly a battle from start to finish and inconsistent officiating made it that much more frustrating.  The main thing is we got the three points and now we can move on and focus on next Thursday’s game with Seattle Pacific.

SFU will travel to Seattle to take on Seattle Pacific University next Thursday night before returning to Terry Fox Field next Saturday when they host Saint Martin’s University at 2:00 PM.  Prior to the game on Saturday, the team will honour former Head Coach Keith Watts, who passed away in August.  Admission is free.