PHOENIX, Ariz. – The Simon Fraser University men's soccer team punched their ticket to the NCAA Final Four in Georgia with a 1-0 victory over the University of the Incarnate Word Cardinals in the Elite Eight on Saturday night.
"We're absolutely ecstatic right now," said head coach Alan Koch. "I take my hat off to Incarnate Word, they made life very difficult for us and they played some fantastic football. Our guys showed a lot of character. It wasn't our best performance tonight and the game winner wasn't the prettiest goal, but we'll take it."
Neither team could gain the upper hand in the first half as the Cardinals outshot the Clan three to two.Â
The stalemate continued through much of the second half and the match appeared destined for extra time.
Then, in the 81st minute, Chris Bargholz (Fuessen, Germany) kicked the ball in from the left side and defender Marco Voegeli (Lenzerheide, Switzerland) was there, just in front of the goal, to beat the keeper and give the Clan the 1-0 lead.
The goal was Voegeli's first of the season.
Incarnate Word continued to press but four shot attempts in the final minutes by the Cardinals didn't find the net and the Clan took the match 1-0.
The Clan will have nearly two weeks to prepare for the Final Four, as the last bracket of the NCAA National Tournament takes place in Evans, GA from November 29 through December 1.
SFU's opponent in that match will be decided on Sunday when Saginaw Valley faces Northeastern State, with the winner moving on to face the Clan in the Final Four.
The SFU men's soccer team will depart Phoenix on Sunday morning at 11:30 a.m. The Clan will fly to Seattle, Wash., before boarding a bus to return to Burnaby Mountain where they expect to arrive at SFU at approximately 6 p.m.
