By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – Goals can come from just about anybody in a Simon Fraser women’s soccer uniform.
 
Eight different Red Leafs scored and three more had assists last week, propelling SFU to a pair of victories, six points in the GNAC standings and recognition as the GNAC Team of the Week. Playing at home on Terry Fox Field, SFU

emerged the victor 2-1 in a tight match against Western Oregon on Thursday, before dismantling Saint Martin’s 7-0 in a record-setting performance on Saturday. SFU’s 47 total shots in the lopsided win were the most in GNAC history, breaking the record of 45 shots set by Western Oregon on Oct. 21, 2002 against Northwest Nazarene.
 
With the wins, SFU improved to 7-1 on the season and 3-1 in conference play, sitting in second place with nine points in the GNAC standings.
 

Western Oregon was a team that SFU couldn’t solve last year, falling 3-1 at home and 1-0 on the road during the two meetings in 2023. The Red Leafs gutted out the 2-1 result on Thursday, building a lead before halftime and responding swiftly to an equalizer to secure three points. “It was a really solid performance from the group,” said second-year head coach Carlo Basso on his unit’s first win of the week. “WOU is one of the teams we struggled with last year, and they play a fast and athletic game. They are very strong and aggressive, but we were able to cope with the physicality and intensity of the game and assert ourselves in possession. That is one big thing we’ve been working on, and we looked strong.”
 
Freshman forward Dariella Lopez continued the hot start to her collegiate career, finding the net in the 34th minute to give SFU the early advantage. The goal originated near midfield with brilliant play by Isabella Muzzolini, who beat a pair of defenders individually before feeding a through ball out wide to Sarah Caravatta in the right corner. “Isabella has been tremendous,” Basso said on the senior from Maple Ridge, B.C., a first-team all-GNAC pick in 2023. “She continues to improve week in and week out. To see the growth over the last year is so impressive. She helped create that first goal with her driving play on the dribble. Her ability to turn her defender and engage space inside to create the 2-v-1 with Sarah was exceptional. She has been leading the way being our engine and difference maker.”
 
Lopez was positioned well near the six-yard box, ready to tuck home Caravatta’s cross to make the score 1-0. A hometown product from Burnaby North Secondary, Lopez made it three straight matches with a goal as she found the net again in Saturday’s win. “It was a fantastic cross from Sarah to find Dariella,” Basso said on the opening goal of the week. “She is a really exciting freshman who has a nose for the net, and she arrives in the correct spaces to finish. She helped us get a really important goal in the game.”
 
The Wolves equalized 13 minutes into the second half, before senior captain Kate Cartier stepped up to the mark in the 65th minute. After a foul by WOU inside the penalty area, the Kelowna, B.C., product confidently smashed a blistering strike from 12 yards out into the upper-left corner of the net. Cartier’s first goal of the season was the fourth game-winner of her career and her 12th overall goal. She ranks third among active GNAC players in career goals and career points (28). “Kate is another senior who is one of the most underrated players in league,” Basso said on the 2023 honorable mention all-GNAC pick. “She is a box-to-box mid that never seems to stop, and she is critical for us on both sides of the ball. Kate has been our PK taker for the last two years, and she showed poise and calmness in that moment to help us get the win. The goal was thoroughly deserved, because a lot of work she does isn’t noticed as much.”
 
Junior goalkeeper Sarah Loewen did her part in securing the win over WOU, matching her season high with seven saves. Her biggest moment of the match came on the first real chance for either team, when reigning GNAC Offensive Player of the Week Ciara Garcia got loose on a breakaway in the box on the right side. Loewen expertly closed the angle, before making a leaping denial on a strong shot towards the upper-right corner that would have put the visitors ahead. “Sarah has been tremendous all year both in and out of possession,” Basso said. “She is critical to how we build up and play, and makes critical saves in big moments. Sarah always finds a way to shut the game down when we need it most. Even in the last 10-15 minutes of the match, Sarah always has the ability to find the big save and calm the game down.”
 
In a battle between a pair of teams that made last year’s conference tournament, the Red Leafs limited the Wolves to just three shots after Cartier’s penalty-kick conversion. “Resiliency,” Basso responded when asked to describe his team’s win on Thursday. “Western Oregon never makes it easy. For us to rebound so quickly after they tied the game was really impressive, and it was a strong performance from the group. We are happy to get the win against a strong WOU team.”
 
On Saturday, the barrage was on from the opening whistle as Muzzolini scored her fourth goal of the season just 29 seconds in and the Red Leafs never looked back. Elyse Beaudry (22’), Kaiden Sherwood (23’) and Lopez (43’) put the game out of reach at 4-0 by halftime. Kiera Scott (67’), 2023 GNAC Championships MVP Raegan MacKenzie (75’) and Alyssa Clark (83’) kept the momentum going with three more goals over the final 45 minutes. Senior goalkeeper Kelsey Fisher made the two saves required of her to collect her second-career shutout and her first of the year. Muzzolini is tied for second in the GNAC with four goals on the season, and Caravatta and 2023 GNAC co-Newcomer of the Year Mikayla Tupper are tied for second in the GNAC with three assists each.
 
The scoring burst increased SFU’s season goal total to 19 with 11 different players finding the back of the net in 2024. Both figures are GNAC highs. “A big part of our culture is knowing we have a talented group, and supporting everyone in the process of improving,” Basso said on the breadth of scoring last week. “To see so many players find so much success on Saturday was exciting, because it shows not only the quality of the program but also the future we have. To see everyone contribute goes to show how committed the group is to success. They support each other day in and day out.”
   
SFU will now be challenged with a stretch of four straight GNAC matches away from home. The Red Leafs visit Northwest Nazarene on Thursday (6 p.m. MT) and play at Central Washington on Saturday (noon PT) this week, before facing reigning GNAC champion Seattle Pacific on Oct. 17 (5 p.m. PT) and Western Washington – the only team they have lost to this fall – on Oct. 19 (7 p.m. PT). “We know how difficult it is to win on the road in the GNAC,” said Basso. “Our focus needs to continue to be on the process, and being our best each and every game so we can continue getting successful performances and results. As long as we continue to focus on the process of getting better, we will see more strong performances from the group.”
 
A PIECE OF GNAC HISTORY: Seven different SFU players scored in the win over the Saints, and the team broke the GNAC record for shots in a single game with 47. It was just the fourth time in a conference game since the GNAC was founded in 2001 that a team had seven different goal scorers, with the most recent occurrence being SFU in an 8-0 win over Saint Martin’s on Oct. 26, 2017. Western Washington achieved the feat in a 9-0 win over Central Washington on Nov. 5, 2005 and Seattle Pacific did so with a 9-0 win over Northwest Nazarene on Oct. 26, 2002. Humboldt State holds the record with eight different goal-scorers in a non-conference, 15-0 drubbing of Cascade College on Aug. 30, 2004. Including non-conference matches, a GNAC team has had seven or more unique goal scorers six times and there have been 16 other matches in which a GNAC team had six unique goal scorers.
 

Most Different Goal Scorers, Single Game (as of Oct. 7, 2024)
Scorers	Team	Opponent	Date	Score
8	Humboldt State	Cascade College	8-30-2004	W, 15-0
Scorers: Lacey Lewis (2), Lesa Lewis (3), Katie Coppoletta (3), Mary Gessel (2), Karen Camilli (2), Ashley Plummer, Elissa White, Emily Castor
7	Simon Fraser	Saint Martin's	10-5-2024	W, 7-0
Scorers: Isabella Muzzolini, Elyse Beaudry, Kaiden Sherwood, Dariella Lopez, Kiera Scott, Raegan MacKenzie; Alyssa Clark
7	Simon Fraser	Saint Martin's	10-26-2017	W, 8-0
Scorers: Mikaela Guerreiro, Priya Sandhu, Emma Pringle (2), Allyson Dickson, Nadia Hakeem, Claire Bareilles, Jenna Baxter
7	Western Washington	Central Washington	11-5-2005	W, 9-0
Scorers: Amanda Font, Erin Casey, Katie Weber (2), Hilary Crisman, Kelly Gagne, Rosie Zadra, Alyssa Kessler (2)
7	Seattle Pacific	Northwest Nazarene	10-26-2002	W, 9-0
Scorers: Megan Lienhard (3), Michelle Sanders, Jessica Henson, Shannon Lovejoy, LeRin Farrison, Briana Murphy, Laura Walker
7	Seattle University	Montana State Billings	9-28-2002	W, 10-0
Scorers: Nichole Sauvageau, Jordan Bieler (2), DeeDee Martiniello (2), Jamie Nicolopulos, Tafara Pulse (2), Stephanie Kerns, Jennifer Lichtenberger

 
It was the sixth time that a GNAC team recorded 40 or more shots in a match, and the first time since Western Washington had 42 in a 7-0 win over Western Oregon on Sept. 16, 2017.
 

Most Shots (Team), GNAC Women’s Soccer Single Game History (as of Oct. 7, 2024)
Rank	Team	Shots	Opponent	Date	Result
1	Simon Fraser	47	Saint Martin's	10-5-2024	Won, 7-0
2	Western Oregon	45	Northwest Nazarene	10-21-2002	Won, 2-0
3	Western Washington	43	Trinity Lutheran	10-3-2015	Won 7-1
T4	Western Washington	42	Western Oregon	9-16-2017	Won 7-0
T4	Western Washington	42	MSU Denver	9-8-2016	Won 2-0
6	Western Washington	40	Northwest Nazarene	11-5-2009	Tied 1-1