Simon Fraser University was stopped short of a third consecutive trip to the NCAA men’s soccer Final Four.
The varsity Clan lost its first-round matchup with Great Northwest conference foe Northwest Nazarene 1-0 in a neutral-site Division II playoff game at Seattle Pacific University on Nov. 13.
Red-shirt freshman midfielder Marshall Hartley scored the only goal of the game in the 23rd minute for Northwest Nazarene to send the No. 5-seeded Clan home early after reaching the Division II semifinals in each of the past two seasons.
“History would tell us that one goal is not usually enough to beat those guys (SFU), but we’ve realized just how exceptional we are defensively,” said Nazarene head coach Coe Michaelson in a Clan press release.
SFU came into the game on a six-game winning streak, scoring 11 goals in its last four games.
“The game characterized our entire season,” said SFU head coach Alan Koch in the release. “We didn’t show up for the first 30 minutes and conceded a goal, and then it wasn’t until we woke up and started to impose our will on them that we took control.”
The Clan dominated the second half, outshooting the Great Northwest regular season runner-up 9-1 and 15-8 overall.
Mateo Espinosa had perhaps SFU’s best chance to score, pouncing on a loose ball in the box in the 70th minute, but his 12-yard shot deflected wide off the foot of a sprawling Alfredo Ontiveros in the Nazarene net.
Joel Malouf also had a good oportunity to tie the game up on a cross in front late in the game. With five minutes left to play, Malouf just missed the goal on a 14-yard volley from the centre of the box.
“We showed the desire to get the job done, and we created opportunities, but their keeper made some outstanding saves and we ran out of time,” said Koch.
Brandon Watson was the top student-athlete in recent Great Northwest academic all-conference balloting. The sophomore Clan keeper sported a 4.15 grade point average in kinesiology.
