Simon Fraser University men’s soccer campaign came to a painful halt in penalty kicks on Saturday when the Cal Poly Pomona Broncos advanced at the NCAA West Regional tournament after a 110-minute battle between the two squads ended 1-0 for the California rival.
Six rounds of penalty kicks were needed to determine who would advance to the regional tourney’s third round. A save by Jason Trejos sent the Broncos to the third round for the second year in a row with a 4-3 edge in penalty kicks against No. 1 Simon Fraser (14-1-3).
During regulation and the two 10-minute overtime periods, neither team allowed a goal as Trejos made five saves, while Simon Fraser’s Brandon Watson needed just one save to record his GNAC-best 31st career shutout. GNAC Player of the Year Adam Jones had a team-best three shots for the Clan and put one of those shots on goal.
Watson got two saves for the Clan right out of the gate in penalty kicks, while Kyle Jones drilled a shot low to the right to give Simon Fraser a 1-0 lead in penalty kicks. Trejos saved the Clan’s second penalty kick to prevent the Broncos’s deficit from growing.
Sergi Monso put CPP on the board in the third round after having scored a penalty kick also in the first-round match on Thursday. SFU’s Mamadi Camara matched Monso with a shot to the left as Trejos dove to the right to give the Clan a 2-1 lead after three rounds.
In the fourth round, both team’s traded goals with GNAC Defensive Player of the Year Magnus Kristensen scoring for the Clan to take a 3-2 lead after four rounds. Needing only a save to advance, Dante Medina kept the Broncos alive with a goal to start the fourth round before Trejos made a second save to even the score and send the penalty kicks into extra rounds.
Ori Kenett scored the penalty kick that would eventually win the shootout for the Broncos.
