Sports

Wildcats narrowly miss victory over Simon-Fraser in home opener

One goal makes the difference yet again, leaving the Wildcats still searching for first win of the season

Aiyana Curry, Reporter // September 12, 2025

The team played hard and generated some offensive opportunities, but weren’t able to hit the back of the net Thursday. Photo taken by Aiyana Curry on Sept. 11.

The Chico State women’s soccer team fell to the Simon Fraser Red Leafs 1-0 in their home opener. Throughout the warm night, the Wildcats attempted 11 shots with two shots on goal against the team from British Colombia, Canada.

For most of the match the Wildcats held a strong defense, holding the Red Leafs aggressive offense to one score, despite their 10 shots on goal.

With the defense in charge for both teams and the first half ending scoreless, the pressure was building as the race to score raged on.

In the 66th minute, the Red Leafs were penalized with a yellow card, resulting in a free kick for the Wildcats. Running a sneaky play, the Wildcats were inches away from scoring their first goal of the season with the shot missing to the left of the goal post.

As the intense game continued under the lights, in the 85th minute the Red Leafs found the back of the net. A strike from just outside the left of the penalty box snuck under the top bar of the goal, edging them ahead of the Wildcats.

Pushing for the final five minutes, the Wildcats’ offense could not break past the Red Leafs defense to level the score.

“It’s a hard one to swallow with that late goal,” head coach Kim Sutton said. “It’s a hell of a growing moment for us.”

Sutton also credited her team for fighting through the tough moments and sticking to their game plan, regardless of how it played out.

“A lot of teams under that pressure would just fall apart, and we just don’t,” Sutton said. “Gutty, gritty performance for us, we never quit.”

Junior goalkeeper Claire Schnabel collected an impressive nine saves for the Wildcats while playing the full 90 minutes.

“We had some close chances tonight, just being able to capitalize on the opportunities that we do create is going to help us move forward,” Schnabel said.

The Wildcats have another home game on Sunday, facing Saint Martin’s Sunday at 11:30 a.m at the University Soccer Stadium.

Home game entry is free for students who present their ID card or Canvas home page.

For information about all Chico State athletics or to keep up with the game live, visit the Wildcat home page, or watch through FloSports .

Aiyana Curry can be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].

About the Contributor

Aiyana Curry, Sports Editor

Aiyana Curry is a junior at Chico State, going into her second semester on The Orion. Originally from San Diego, Calif., she is excited to start her reporting journey, aiming to eventually become a sports reporter. In pursuit of this goal, she’s working toward a degree in journalism with a minor in sports media. She’s also on the Chico State Softball team and in addition to writing, enjoys working out, drawing, cooking, reading and photography.