May. 12th, 2004 - Cal Poly downs Simon Fraser 14-11
Fenton, MO - The tenth seeded Cal Poly (CP) Mustangs defeated the 15th seeded Simon Fraser University (SFU) Clan 14-11 in consolation bracket play on Wednesday morning from the Anheuser-Bush Sports Center. Kenny Williams (3 goals, 1 assist) and Tim Casey (3 goals) led the Cal Poly scoring attack.
The match began with the Mustangs controlling the majority of the face-offs, which allowed them to post five unanswered goals at the start. Senior midfielder Conor Le Clair (Encinitas, CA) scored two of those goals, both unassisted. The first quarter ended with an advantage in favor of Cal Poly, 5 to 1.
Simon Fraser began the second quarter with a stronger defensive effort. However the Clan could not stop Poly Senior Attackman Peter Reed (Scottsdale, AZ) scoring on an assist from Midfielder Steve Jones (Sacramento, CA).
Down by five goals midway through the 2nd quarter, the Clan finally picked up the pace.
Simon Fraser would pump in four straight goals to climb back into the contest. The Clan would capitalize on several man-up opportunities.
Simon Fraser Head Coach Marc Downey commented. "I was real pleased with our performance. We were struggling later in the season, but in the playoffs we grabbed the opportunity to capitalize on our opponent's penalties."
The score at the half was Cal Poly 7, Simon Fraser 5. Ground balls, shots and face-offs were near even for both teams in the first half, 17-14, 15-16, and 6-5 respectively.
Rough play marked the beginning of the third quarter. The Clan would capitalize on Poly penalties to tie the score at 9.
Cal Poly would pull away in the fourth quarter as their offensive unit exploded. Junior Attackman Tim Casey (Encinitas, CA) scored a magnificent goal after drawing two penalties on the way to the cage.
In the final quarter's first ten minutes, Poly took five shots and scored all five times. The Mustangs finished with a 14 – 11 victory over the Clan from the Pacific NW Collegiate Lacrosse League.
Cal Poly will face Georgia Tech in Friday morning's consolation bracket finale to conclude the tournament while the Clan will take on Boston College.