WARREN, Ohio. – The championship dream ended for SFU Men's Golf in the quarterfinal medal play for the NCAA Division II Championship when the Red Leafs lost to Oklahoma Christian, 3-1-1, in head-to-head play at the Avalon Lakes Golf Course on Thursday.
 
SFU advanced to the medal round after an epic third-round comeback to overcome a 9-stroke deficit and tie for eighth after 54-holes and then won a three-team tiebreaker to advance to medal play on the par 72, 7,287-yard course.
 
Oklahoma Christian, the three-round leader, won three of the five matches in the head-to-head competition to advance to the Final Four.
 
In the head-to-head matchups, Michael Crisologo, never trailed, shooting even-par 72 to win his match against Santiago Villareal 72 to 79 for SFU's only win. Ryan Hodgins tied with Oskari Nikku, both with 6-over-par 78s. Hodgins never trailed in his match until the 17^th hole. He held a one stroke lead on 16 but shot a five on the 17^th while Oskari Nikku had a three. Hodgins made one stroke up on the 18^th to tie the match.
 
SFU dopped its first three matchups featuring Aidan Goodfellow, Bailey Bjornson, and Jordan Bean.
 
Goodfellow lost after shooting a 7-over-par 79 against Alejandro Armijo's 75. Goodfellow held a one stroke lead after 12 holes but he lost three strokes over the next two holes and could not recover.
 
Bjornson, who was SFU's top golfer over the first 54-holes of stroke play, lost 77 to 73 to Mateo Pulcini, who took the lead on the third hole and held it through 18 for a four-stroke victory.
 
Bean held a one-stroke lead after the first nine but lost the lead on 13 to Exequiel Rodriguez and he ended up losing by two strokes, 76 to 74. Trailing by one stroke after 16 holes, Bean tried to win the match with aggressive play over the final two holes but shot a pair of 5s. Bean vs Rodriguez was the third group and Bean knew he had to keep SFU alive. With Rodriguez's win the Eagles had the necessary three wins to advance to the semifinal.
 
The Red Leafs finished top 8 at the 2023 NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championship. SFU finished fifth in 2015 and 17^th in 2014 in its only other appearances in the championship tournament.
 
Individually, in the 54-hole match play, Bjornson (73-73-72, 218) was tied for 25^th, Bean (73-75-72, 220) was tied for 36^th, Goodfellow (76-72-76, 224) and Crisologo (80-75-68, 224) were tied for 59^th and Hodgins (75-73-80, 228) was tied for 75^th
 
 
LEARN TO PLAY GOLF WITH PRO KAT KENNEDY & WOMEN'S GOLF TEAM | JUNE 2
 Enjoy a free introduction to golf on Friday, June 2 (4-5 p.m.) on Terry Fox Field with pro golfer and SFU assistant coach, Kat Kennedy, and the women's golf team, in celebration of International Women's Golf Day and PGA of BC Women's Golf Week. Everyone is welcome. No previous golf experience needed. All equipment will be provided. Registration is free and includes welcome gift, promotions to local golf facilities, prizes, and golf apparel odds and ends sale. Register: https://athletics.sfu.ca/womensgolfday
 
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