Thursday, November 14, 2013

PORTLAND, Ore. - With a 5-0 triumph over Cal Baptist, No. 12 Simon Fraser burst into the 2013 NCAA Division II postseason in style with a dominant first round performance Thursday evening on the campus of Cal State Los Angeles in L.A.

The Clan (16-2-1) are now one step closer to mirroring last season’s Final Four run that ended with a loss in the Division II semifinals. SFU will face host Cal State Los Angeles, the No. 1 seed in the region, on Saturday at 7 p.m. Pacific time in the second round of the West Region playoffs.

Alex Kleefeldt didn’t waste any time getting his team on the board first, notching a goal in the 15th minute on a shot into the upper corner of the goal from 25 yards out. The 1-0 lead pushed momentum into SFU’s favor, and just six minutes after Carlo Basso entered the match he set up 2013 GNAC Defensive Player of the Year Alex Rowley with a ball that was converted into the net to double the Clan’s lead.

Ryan Dhillon and Rowley added exclamation points to an emphatic first half, finishing two more SFU goals with less than three minutes before the break.

Colin Jacques helped SFU pick up right where it left off in the second half, notching his team-leading ninth goal of the season in the 56th minute as the Clan kept their foot on the gas with goal number five. 

Jacques’ goal proved to be the final touch as SFU closed out the final 30 minutes of play without incident to capture the victory.

Second Half Goal Sinks SPU, Ends Falcons’ Season

Cal State Chico's Kramer Runager headed home a cross in the 63rd minute of an NCAA Division II West Regional men's soccer playoff match, pushing the Wildcats to a 1-0 victory over Seattle Pacific Thursday afternoon in La Jolla, Calif.

The defeat ended SPU's season with a final mark of 12-4-3, and the Falcons finished as the runner up to Simon Fraser in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings by just one point. CSU Chico defeated SPU by the same score (1-0) in the Falcons' first match of the 2013 season. After the defeat, SPU embarked upon a 15-game unbeaten streak, beating then-No.1 ranked Simon Fraser and earning head coach Mark Collings GNAC Coach of the Month for October in the process.

SPU matched CSU Chico shot-for-shot in the match overall as each side had 15, and SPU kept pace in terms of shots on frame with five compared to the Wildcats' six. First-team All-GNAC goalkeeper Cody Lang made five saves, and the teams were even in corner kicks with five apiece. Stephen MacDonald nearly got his team on the board with a header shot in the 88th minute, but Wildcat goalkeeper Sam Evans came up with the save to preserve the shutout. The Wildcats (14-4-2) advance to play host UC San Diego on Saturday evening at 7 p.m. Pacific time.