Burnaby, BC – The Simon Fraser University Clan kept their playoff hopes alive with three second-half goals for a come-from-behind 3-1 win over the University of Mary Marauders in a Great Northwest Conference men's soccer game on Terry Fox Field on the Burnaby Mountain campus.

Trailing 1-0 at the break, Simon Fraser came in waves at the Marauders to open the second half, scoring three times in the first 16 minutes, including a pair of goals from senior forward Jovan Blagojevic (Coquitlam, BC).

"We came out and put way too much pressure on ourselves, guys were way too intense and when we conceded the first goal our heads dropped," said head coach Alan Koch "Halftime was probably the most important thing we did all day along and I told them to 'stay the course, believe in yourselves and it will turn around'".

Blagojevic scored his first of the game before the second half was nine minutes old, dribbling into the box and directing a shot into the far corner past Marauders goalkeeper Michael Frenzel. Less than three minutes later he scored again, directing a cross from Alex Rowley into the back of the net. Rowley set-up both goals by Blagojevic.

"It was a big performance from Jovan and he's been doing it all season long for us," said Koch. "He was the catalyst to get us going in the second half."

Blagojevic, who fired six shots at Frenzel, scored his 16^th goal in 15 games this season. He moved into 11^th place on the Clan's all-time single season goal-scoring list.

"Our big time players are playing as big time players and our new guys are figuring it out," continued Koch.

The comeback was complete in the 61^st minute when freshman forward Niko Schroettle (Dunauworth, Germany) scored off a Robert Hyams (Brentwood, UK) corner-kick. SFU has scored three goals in three of the past four games.
University of Mary opening the scoring in the 24^th minute when Aaron Brennan fired a shot from 25 yards out that skipped past Clan goalkeeper Brandon Watson.

Simon Fraser outshot the visitors 21-7, forced Frenzel to make 9 saves, and had 14 corner-kicks to the Marauders 3.

It was the fourth win in a row and sixth in seven games for the Clan, now 7-3-2 in the GNAC, 9-4-2 overall.

Playing its best soccer of the year, the Clan has moved up to sixth in the NCAA West Region poll and likely needs to win its two remaining games, this Saturday on Terry Fox Field beginning at 7:30 PM against South Dakota School of Mines Hardrockers and November 8 at home to rival Western Washington, in order to create a lasting impression for the selection committee for the NCAA tournament. There are six West Region berths into the single-game elimination NCAA Division II national championship tournament available. Twenty-four teams qualify for the tournament.

Seattle Pacific is all but guaranteed a spot in the postseason with its 14-0-1 record and No. 2 ranking in the NSCAA Division II Top 25 Poll. The Falcons have won 13 straight games while only giving up seven goals all year. Seattle Pacific is ranked second in this week's NCAA West Region Poll while the conference's second team, Northwest Nazarene, with an 11-3-1 conference record, is slotted fifth.

"Every game becomes more and more important as we get closer to the end but I think it was good for the group to come together and believe in themselves," said Koch. "We are getting better and we can still get better, but we are peaking as a team, and the boys believe in each other and now they have to take care of business on Saturday.

Saturday's opponent South Dakota is winless this season while Western Washington is 7-7-1 in the GNAC.