It’s shaping up to be a battle of the bigs in Great Northwest conference men’s soccer.
With just three games left in the regular season, first-place leader Simon Fraser University will have have to prove its NCAA Division II fourth overall ranking to hold on to top spot.
SFU’s toughest part of the schedule begins Thursday against fourth-place Saint Martin’s on Thursday.
The final two games conference games pit top-three Seattle Pacific and Western Washington against the Clan on successive Saturdays, beginning on Nov. 2.
Last week, SFU enjoyed a pair of 7-0 victories over conference lesser-lights Northwest Nazarene and Montana State Billings. It was the third consecutive 7-0 win for the Clan in conference play.
Carlo Basso scored two goals in the win over Billings on Saturday, while Ryan Dhillon and Magnus Kristensen both potted a pair in the earlier Oct. 24 win.
Saturday’s win was also the 100th victory for SFU head coach Alan Koch, since he took over the men’s soccer program in 2008.
“We are very satisfied with the performances, and the results this week,” said Koch. “It is very rare that you score seven goals in a game against a quality opponent. We did that twice this week. We will enjoy the victory for now, and will start preparations for Saint Martin’s.”
Clan scoring leader Colin Jacques also scored a goal in each of the wins last week to boost his first-place point total in the conference to eight goals and eight assists and 1.60 points per game.
The Clan currently lead the conference table with a record of 9-1-1, a point ahead of Seattle Pacific and four points up on third-place Western Washington.
SFU hosts Montana State Billings at Terry Fox Field on Thursday.
The Clan then plays host to 8-0-3 Seattle Pacific on Saturday. Game times are both 7:30 p.m.
