Simon Fraser University made program and NCAA history, marching into the semifinals of the Division II national men's soccer championships in its first year of eligibility.
The Clan men were scuttled 3-1 by the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals in the national semifinal played in December, but not before exploding onto the NCAA scene with three Northwest conference titles and back-to-back near-perfect season records. In 2011, the Clan put together its first unbeaten season.
"We're gutted," said a disappointed SFU head coach Alan Koch after the semifinal loss. "The history we made today won't sink in for a while.
"Saginaw Valley was the better team in the first 15 minutes. When they scored, they kept on playing. They made it very, very difficult to get behind them. It would have been nice to do it in our first run."
The Clan, in its first official season in the NCAA, earned a berth into the final four of the Div. II nationals with a clutch 1-0 victory over the Lone Star conference champion University of the Incarnate Word in Phoenix, Arizona.
Defender Marco Voegeli scored the game-winner in the 82nd minute with his first goal of the season.
Voegeli's marker came off a crossing pass from Chris Bargholz that deflected off the defender and into the goal.
The win made NCAA history for SFU, which-became the first non-American program to earn a berth into the semifinals of a national championship tournament.
It was also just the second time that a Great Northwest Conference team has won the West Region title.
Earlier in the year, SFU completed another near-perfect Div. II season with a 3-0 win over Western Washington. It was the third consecutive Great Northwest conference title for the No. 3-nationally ranked Clan.
This season, the Clan boasted an overall 161-1 mark and were 12-1-1 in S conference P play.
PICKS T h e Clan also boasted 13 players earning all-conference recognition, including head coach Alan Koch, who garnered his third Great Northwest coach of the year honour in the yearend coaches poll.
Michael Winter was named the Great Northwest player of the year, while Ryan Dhillon was selected conference freshman of the year.
Carlo Basso, Helge Neumann, Matt Besuschko and Winter were named to the all-conference first team for a second time.
Six other SFU players earned all-Great Northwest conference second team or honourable mention recognition.
Winter, Basso and schol-ar-athete Neumann were named All-Americans.
Six players were named to the all-region team and 13 received conference awards.
