Box Score Burnaby, BC - The Simon Fraser University men's soccer team are Great Northwest Athletic Conference Champions for the fourth straight year after defeating the second place team in the GNAC and the fifth ranked team in the NCAA Division II's West Region, the Seattle Pacific Falcons 1-0 in a thrilling double overtime game on Saturday night.
"We're ecstatic to win the conference championship again. Every year it is just as sweet as the year before," said Head Coach
Alan Koch. "Seattle Pacific gave us a fantastic run for our money this year. They're a great team, they're well coached and hopefully both us and them get the opportunity to represent the GNAC in the NCAA Tournament."
The Clan had pressure on the Falcons throughout the night, outshooting SPU 14-5 in the game with six shots on target compared to three for the Falcons.
Goalkeeper
Brandon Watson (Victoria, BC) stopped all three with all three coming in the first half while his counterpart Cody Lang from Seattle Pacific made three saves in the first half and two in the second.
After regulation, the two teams battled through the first 10 minute overtime period in which neither team recorded a shot on net.
Then, in the second overtime,
Jovan Blagojevic (Coquitlam, BC) got the golden goal for the Clan, netting the game winner to clinch the conference title in the 106th minute of play.
The goal was unassisted, as Blagojevic scored on a scramble in the box.
The Clan have now won the GNAC Championship in each of their four years in the conference.
With the victory, the Clan's record improves to 15-1-1 on the season and 11-1-1 in the GNAC.
Simon Fraser will wrap up their regular season schedule next Saturday when they travel to Bellingham, WA for the second half of the 'Border Battle' against the Western Washington Vikings.
The Clan will then learn their NCAA post-season fate during the NCAA selection show on November 11.
