PORTLAND, ORE. – With goals in the 9th and 31st minutes, Simon Fraser jumped out to a quick lead and then held on for a 3-1 win over Concordia University on Thursday night at Tuominen Yard in Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's soccer action.
After Concordia generated chances in the early minutes, Simon Fraser made it 1-0 when
James Fraser tapped in a diving header from the right side off a cross from
Adam Jones from six yards out.
Later in the first half,
Mateo Espinosa expanded the lead when he gathered a pass in the box from
Michael North and put it home after North had drawn a crowd of defenders.
SFU held a 10-3 edge in shots at halftime, including a 3-1 advantage in shots on goal.
Concordia's Erick Urzua cut the lead in half in the 66th minute on a penalty kick after the Cavs' Ben Culpan was fouled in the box. Concordia continued to attack throughout the second half, but was unable to create quality opportunities.
Simon Fraser was only able to come up with a single shot attempt in the final 45 minutes. However, the Clan made it count in the 83rd minute, as
Mamadi Camara beat two defenders before putting the ball past the left side of CU goalkeeper Mitch McCaw to essentially end the match.
"I'm very happy to get a big win on road because it is never easy getting three point on the road in the GNAC," said Clan head coach
Clint Schneider. "The lads battled, and worked and fought, and then allowed their football to come through with three good finishes."
With the win, Simon Fraser moved to 8-3-4 on the season and 7-2-3 in GNAC play and kept pace for second place with 24 points. Concordia fell to 6-4-5 and 4-3-5 in league contests.
WEST REGION RANKINGS: The second NCAA Division Regional Rankings were released Oct. 28. These rankings determine which teams will be invited to the NCAA National Tournament in November. Seattle Pacific leads GNAC teams, ranked No. 2 in the West Region. Northwest Nazarene is also in the rankings at No. 8. The Clan has jumped back up to second place in the GNAC standings. They are also in the NSCAA Division II West Region Rankings for the first time since Sept. 22, ranking No. 10.
Simon Fraser next plays at Northwest Nazarene on Oct. 31 at 2 p.m. in Nampa, Idaho.
--@SFUClan--
