Saint Martin’s women's soccer team's second giant slaying stopped after Simon Fraser’s late comeback to salvage 3-3 draw 

Just days after beating GNAC’s #2 team at home, the Saints were just short of another upset victory as they settled for a still impressive 3-3 draw against 3rd seed Simon Fraser University at the Saints Field on Thursday, October 31. 

It was raining goals in the rainy SMU Soccer field as the Saints found themselves in wonderland with a 3-1 lead at halftime after goals from Taylor Copeland and Ravyn Mummey. Still, a quick start in the second half saved the point for the visiting Red Leafs to spoil what could be another giant slaying for SMU in a week. 

Bringing the confidence from last week’s win over the Seattle Pacific Falcons, the Saints started with attacking confidence. Inara Lopez De Andrade and Hinata Kojima set the pace early from the kickoff, bringing the ball forward at many opportunities.  

Unfortunately for the hosts, the Red Leafs drew first blood as a quick counterattack caught the high defensive line of the Saints, which was quickly converted to the opener, scored by Dariella Lopez in the 15th minute. 

The Saints quickly regrouped and found the game-tying goal after seven minutes. Defender Payton Aselton flung a long ball to the front, to which, after a controlled flick pass from Eve Charles, an open Taylor Copeland beat the defensive line and hit a rocket of a shot past an advanced Simon Fraser keeper Sarah Loewen to equalize. 

The game stalled for some time after the stalemate until the breakthrough near the end of halftime. After a scuffle from a set piece, Ravyn Mummey hit a right-footed first-time volley in the box a la Zidane, which froze the keeper to hand the Saints the lead in the 41st minute.  

As if it’s not enough, Mummey would score another goal less than three minutes later from a scruffy entanglement in the box and take advantage of a disorganized SFU defense as they doubled the advantage right before halftime. Both goals scored by midfielder Mummey were her first two goals this season and the first time in her Saints career that she scored multiple goals in a match. 

The Saint Martin’s wonderland was then brought back to earth early in the second half as the Red Leafs were awarded a penalty after a hard foul by Aselton, who was also given a yellow card. Simon Fraseer’s top goalscorer, Isabella Muzzolini, converts from the spot, beating an outstretched Flavia Burrell in the right-hand side corner of the goal. 

The visitors scored again in the 53rd minute in an urgent attempt to comeback. A corner delivered by Kate Cartier was flicked with a sombrero shot from goalscorer Sarah Caravatta. Despite this attempt for a quick comeback from the visitors, the Saints held their ground to salvage the draw 3-3. 

Flavia Burrell had another standout performance in goal despite conceding three goals, with her four big saves, while Keilee Silva and Rose Ivanis contributed huge defensive stops at the backline. The Saints will finish with 11 shot attempts with five on target. 

This draw is a massive improvement to the reverse fixture at British Columbia earlier in October, where the visiting Saints were rinsed in a 7-0 defeat away from home. They also improved their season record to two wins, three draws, and six defeats to gain 9 points, finding themselves tied with Northwest Nazarene. 

"Good effort from the group. [We] battled hard and scored some really good goals. Taking strides in the right direction is really encouraging right now; just working on improving game-to-game," said women’s soccer head coach Derek Faulkner after the match. 

To finish this gauntlet week for the Saints, they will host the undefeated league leaders Western Washington this Saturday, November 2, at 2:00 P.M. kickoff at Saints Field as they celebrate Seniors Day.