Friday, November 22, 2013

DENVER, Colo. - After a dramatic double overtime goal from Carlo Basso helped Simon Fraser to a semifinal victory in the Division II West Regional tournament last week, an even more thriling ending by way of a penalty kick shootout pushed the Clan through to the Elite Eight.

SFU emerged victorious over UC San Diego on Friday morning on the campus of Regis University, putting the Clan (17-2-2) one win away from matching last season's berth into the Final Four. UC San Diego's season ended with a record of 14-3-5.

The senior Basso stepped up to take SFU's first penalty kick, and tucked it home after UCSD's first attempt missed. Alex Rowley made it 2-0 for SFU, but a pair of makes for UCSD and a miss for the Clan after the third round evened the score at 2-2. Both teams missed their fourth and made their fifth shots, sending the shootout into a sudden-death scenario. The Tritons' attempt missed, and Jules Chopin sparked a celebration on the field as his make extended SFU's season.

Trailing for more than an hour, it was Jovan Blagojevic that finally put SFU on the board with a game-tying goal in the 87th minute of action. The teams battled through a pair of overtime periods scoreless, leading to a decisive penalty kick shootout to settle the match.

The Clan fell behind in the 26th minute, as Alessandro Canale knocked home his fifth goal of the season to give UC San Diego the lead. The teams remained even through the first half, with the Tritons holding the slight edge in shots at 5-4 after 45 minutes.

SFU held a 8-1 edge in shots in the second half, and the Clan finally broke the deadlock with just three minutes remaining. Magnus Kristensen found Blagojevic for the desperation equalizer, as SFU knotted the score at 1-1 in the 87th minute.

Brandon Watson came up with a crucial save in the second overtime period, keeping the Tritons out of the net and the score tied.

SFU advances to play Regis University which defeated Midwestern State 2-1 in the South Central Regional final. The Elite Eight match is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. (noon Pacific time) in Denver.