Monday, November 13, 2023
by Thomas Lal

PORTLAND, Ore. – Fresh on the heels of winning the program’s eighth GNAC title, Simon Fraser is headed to the 2023 NCAA Men’s Regionals as the lone representative from the conference.

The Red Leafs (11-4-2) come into the NCAA Championships as the No. 7 seed in the Super Region 4 after clinching the conference's automatic berth on Saturday. This marks the first time that the Red Leafs have made the tournament since 2018 where they narrowly fell 1-0 to Cal Poly Pomona in double overtime.

Simon Fraser is set to face No. 10 seed Point Loma (12-4-2) on Thursday in Los Angeles. The winner of that match will advance to face the No. 2 seed host Cal State LA on Saturday. The Red Leafs have never previously faced Point Loma in the regular season or the postseason. Should they meet on Saturday, the Red Leafs are 3-1-0 all-time against the Cal State LA Golden Eagles.

Simon Fraser has been an offensive juggernaut this season, leading the conference and ranking 21st in Division II with 6.59 points per game. That offense has been led by freshman forward Michael Hennessy with 29 points on 13 goals and three assists to rank second in the GNAC and 23rd in the division. He is followed by senior forward Devin O’Hea with 27 points on an even nine goals and nine assists and fellow freshman forward Koji Poon with 18 points from eight goals and two assists.

The Red Leafs have shown their defensive ability as well, ranking 21st in the division with a +23 goal differential and are 18th with a .808 save percentage. Nearly all of those saves have come at the hand of senior goalkeeper Justyn Sandhu who leads the GNAC and ranks 21st in Division II with an .800 save percentage. Sandhu also ranks 24th in the division with a .882 goals against average.