Good luck at Nationals gentlemen!

The game would stay close through the first half, but Oregon would use a five-goal third quarter to help defeat the Beavers 15-7 and take the bragging rights for now. We may very well see this match-up again in the PNCLL playoffs.

Simon Fraser defeats Montana 19-5 to Claim Top Spot in PNCLL North

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
By William Howard, SFU Lacrosse Media Relations
Simon Fraser University Men’s Lacrosse

Event: Men’s Lacrosse
Site: Terry Fox Field, Simon Fraser University (Burnaby, BC)
Score: No. 19 Simon Fraser University 19, University of Montana 5
Record: SFU (11-5, 4-0 PNCLL Div. I North), UM (5-8, 2-2 PNCLL Div. I North)
Next SFU Game: Saturday, May 4, 2012, 9:00pm PDT – PNCLL Semi-Final vs. #2S Oregon State University – Portland, OR (Wilsonville High School)

BURNABY, BC (April 23, 2013) – Simon Fraser mounted a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter, on route to defeating Montana by a final score of 19-5. The decisive victory earned the Clan their sixth straight divisional title, clinching top spot in the PNCLL North heading into the Final Four Conference Championships, May 4-5 at Wilsonville High School in Portland, Oregon. The win also climbed SFU up two spots to No. 17 in the latest Nike / Inside Lacrosse Top 25 Poll, released earlier today on MCLA.us.

Senior attackmen Colton Dow (Coquitlam, BC / Heritage Woods Secondary) – 3g, 2a, and Eric Ransom (Sherwood Park, AB / Bev Facey HS) – 2g, 3a, continued to lead Fraser offensively, on a day where 12 different Clan payers registered points. The 5 points each provided a memorable end to their final regular season game as part of Senior Day at Terry Fox Field, joining fellow fourth-year player, goaltender Kyle Middleton (Nanaimo, BC / Woodlands Secondary) who went the distance with 5 saves, to represent the three members of SFU’s 2013 Senior Class. Midfielders Sam Clare (Ladner, BC / Vancouver College) – 3g, 1a, and Andrew Branting (Duncan, BC / Cowichan Secondary) – 3g, also had strong games on the scoresheet, each with a hattrick to end the regular season.

Dow opened the scoring, casually rolling the ball into the Griz net, followed by a solo effort on a drive from fellow attackman Ward Spencer (Saskatoon, SK / Evan Hardy Collegiate) to put the Clan up 2-0. Freshman attack Lyndon Knuttila (Maple Ridge, BC / Thomas Haney Secondary) then found sophomore midfielder Casey Foster (Edmonton, AB / St. Francis Xavier) who wired a shot past the Montana keeper to give Simon Fraser a 3-goal lead heading into the second frame.

SFU would continue to dominate in the second quarter, outscoring the Griz 6-0 on goals by Ransom, Branting, freshman midfielder Jordan Stroup (Coquitlam, BC / Dr. Charles Best Secondary), Clare, Dow and sophomore midfielder Travis Hayes (Dublin, CA / Dublin HS), to showcase the Clan’s depth with six different SFU players finding the back of the visitor’s net.

Leading 9-0 out of the break, Ransom connected with Dow to cap-off a 10-0 SFU run to start the match-up. Montana midfielder Henry Bishop (Portland, OR / Chester HS) then beat a Clan double team in transition to finally get the Griz on the board at 10-1. The UM offensive would be short-lived as SFU went on another 4-goal run started by freshmen midfielder Matt Bailey (Richmond, BC / H.J. Cambie Secondary), followed by markers from Branting, Knuttila and Clare to extend the Fraser lead to thirteen at 14-1. UM midfielder Samuel Freihofer made it 14-2, before Clare concluded the third quarter scoring to put the Clan up by a commanding score of 15-2 heading down the stretch.

Freshman attack Tibor Van den Wildenbergh (Okotoks, AB / Foothills Composite HS), converted a pass from Ransom, to make it 16-2 to begin the fourth quarter. Montana then stringed together their only consecutive goals of the contest with freshman midfielder Cullen Weisbrod (Barrington, RI / Barrington HS) and Bishop scoring back-to-back to reset the score to 16-4. Ransom answered back to spark the Clan’s final run of the afternoon, followed-up by goals from Branting and junior attack Frank Davalos (Moose Jaw, SK / Albert E. Peacock Collegiate) to sit Fraser ahead 19-4 going in to the games’ final minutes. Bishop would add his third of the day to bump up the Montana total and end the game with a final score of 19-5.

The stage is now set for the PNCLL Final Four Conference Championships with #2N Washington facing-off against tenth ranked #1S Oregon in the other Semi-Final Match-up, with the two winners meeting the following day on Sunday, May 5 at 2:00pm.

For further information on Simon Fraser men’s lacrosse please visit www.sfulacrosse.com or follow the Clan on Twitter at www.twitter.com/fraserlacrosse.

SIMON FRASER (11-5) 3-6-6-4/19
MONTANA (5-8) 0-0-2-3/5

GOALS: SFU: Branting-3, Clare-3, Dow-3, Ransom-2, M. Bailey, Davalos, Foster, Hayes, Knuttila, Spencer, Stroup, Van den Wildenbergh. UM: Bishop-3, Freihofer, Weisbrod.

ASSISTS: SFU: Ransom-3, Davalos-2, Dow-2, Clare, Foster, Knuttila. UM: None recorded.

NOTES

- Simon Fraser recorded 60 ground balls. Midfielder Andrew Branting led the Clan with 5, while fellow freshmen Matt Bailey and Jordan Stroup each registered career-highs, joined by attackman Colton Dow and midfielders Travis Hayes and Marcus Quon, all with 4.

- SFU won 60% of the games face-offs, going 15 of 25. Sophomore Sam Clare led all drawmen at 70% (7 of 10), while sophomore James Irwin (Burnaby, BC / Burnaby South Secondary) – 4 of 7, and freshman Marcus Quon (Vancouver, BC / Kitsilano Secondary) – 4 of 8, finished 57% and 50% respectively.

QUOTES

SFU Head Coach Brent Hoskins

On Montana: “Montana plays a physical style of lacrosse that keeps them competing for a full four quarters. The Griz were young this year but showed a lot of potential that could have them back in contention as early as next season.”

On Simon Fraser: “We needed a win tonight to clinch first place in the North but it was also important to reestablish a level of focus and consistency that we know is going to be critical heading into playoffs. We were happy with our start over the first and second quarters, especially in our defensive end, and managed to maintain that momentum for much of the back half. Overall, tonight was a solid effort that carries on building on our foundation to ensure that we continue to peak at the right time of the year.”

ABOUT SIMON FRASER MEN’S LACROSSE
Simon Fraser University Men’s Lacrosse will compete in its eighteenth season in 2013 and is a Division I member of the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA). The Clan have captured a record eight PNCLL Conference Titles (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2008 and 2009) and rank sixth all-time with ten MCLA National Championship tournament appearances, placing 2nd in 1999 and playing in the 2010 MCLA Semi-Finals after reaching the Quarterfinals in 2008 and 2009.

Simon Fraser University is Canada’s top-ranked comprehensive university and one of the top 50 universities in the world under 50 years old. With campuses in Vancouver, Burnaby and Surrey, B.C., SFU engages actively with the community in its research and teaching, delivers almost 150 programs to more than 30,000 students, and has more than 120,000 alumni in 130 countries.

Check out some great shots from OSU’s wins over Portland State (22-7) and Boise State (19-6) courtesy of Mr. White.

Great hit or big cross check? You tell us! We’re siding with the latter, his hands are a dead giveaway.

Chapman took down UCSB this past weekend and The Lacrosse Network captured all the best highlights from the game.

Our friends over at LaxxTV also sent over a great bunch of videos for us to check out. We’ll start off first with a big hit from Simon Fraser vs Oregon game a while back. The ref called it clean, but was it? Let us know what you think the call should be!

SFU vs. Oregon highlights from their early season match-up. Oregon would win 9-8, but Fraser played a great game in the process. A great match-up from both teams and a very fun game to watch.

Brigham Young vs. Stanford, a classic Utah vs Cali match-up. BYU would take the game 13-7, but Stanford would put up a good fight. A few defensive changes from Stanford’s perspective could’ve changed the game.

Have a video we should see? Send it to MCLA@LacrosseAllStars.com.

No. 19 Simon Fraser Downs Washington 20-6

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
By William Howard, SFU Lacrosse Media Relations
Simon Fraser University Men’s Lacrosse

Event: Men’s Lacrosse
Site: Terry Fox Field, Simon Fraser University (Burnaby, BC)
Score: No. 19 Simon Fraser University 20, University of Washington 6
Record: SFU (8-5, 1-0 PNCLL Div. I North), UW (3-8, 1-1 PNCLL Div. I North)
Next SFU Game: Friday, April 12, 2013, 7:00pm PDT – vs. Washington State University – Pullman, WA (WSU – South Fairway Intramural Playfield)

BURNABY, BC (April 10, 2013) – Fifteen different Clan players registered points, as No. 19 Simon Fraser downed Washington 20-6 on Saturday, April 6 to move to 1-0 in the PNCLL North. SFU was led by senior Colton Dow (Coquitlam, BC / Heritage Woods Secondary) who registered a game-high 6 points with 4 goals and 2 assists. Fellow attackmen Frank Davalos (Moose Jaw, SK / Albert E. Peacock Collegiate) – 3g, 1a, and Eric Ransom (Sherwood Park, AB / Bev Facey HS) – 1g, 3a, also had strong games offensively with 4 points each, while sophomore midfielder Casey Foster (Edmonton, AB / St. Francis Xavier) recorded a career-high 3 goals for his first collegiate hattrick. The Clan led the Huskies from start to finish, posting a season-high 64 shots (13-14-20-17/64), to UW’s 16 (6-4-4-2/16).

Simon Fraser scored on the games first three possessions, as freshmen midfielders Jordan Lashar (Burnaby, BC / Burnaby South Secondary) and Marcus Quon (Vancouver, BC / Kitsilano Secondary) scored back-to-back, followed by Dow, to give the Clan an early 3-0 lead. Dow added his second of the game to make the score 4-0, before freshman midfielder Eric Lonsway (West Linn, OR / West Linn HS) finally got Washington on the board at 4-1. Freshman attack Lyndon Knuttila (Maple Ridge, BC / Thomas Haney Secondary) reset the Clan lead back to four at 5-1, until Huskies attackman Alex Crane (Bainbridge Island, WA / Bainbridge Island HS) completed the first quarter scoring to sit Fraser ahead by three at 5-2, after 15:00 minutes.

Crane continued to close the Gap for UW to start the second period, converting a pass from senior attackman Josh Redhair (Danville, CA / San Ramon Valley) to make it a 2-goal game at 5-3. Having still monopolized the majority of the play, Fraser would begin to pull away the rest of the quarter, going on a 3-goal run on goals by Knuttila, Dow and freshman attack Cam MacIntosh (Calgary, AB / Central Memorial HS), with the first goal of his collegiate career, to increase the SFU lead to five at 8-3. The divisional rivals would trade goals with the man-advantage to end the half, as Redhair capitalized for the Huskies, followed by Davalos with his first of the game, on the man-up, to keep it a 5-goal margin at 9-4 heading into the break.

SFU would take control for good out of the intermission continuing a stretch of 8 unanswered goals, as the Clan outscored the Huskies 7-0 in the third quarter. Foster began his second-half trio, finishing a pass from Dow, to make it 10-4, followed by Ransom assisting Dow and Davalos, to push the Fraser lead to eight at 12-4. Freshman midfielder Jordan Stroup (Coquitlam, BC / Dr. Charles Best Secondary) would then put a dagger in UW’s side, scoring shorthanded off a feed from junior LSM Riley Wanzer (Mukilteo, WA / Kamiak HS), to make it 13-4. Davalos, on the man-up, Foster and freshman midfielder Alex Bohl, would round out the third quarter scoring and give the Clan a 12-goal lead at 16-4 with one frame left to play.

Washington midfielder Chris Brown (San Diego, CA / Torrey Pines HS) would give the Huskies a little life down the stretch, scoring twice, on either side of Fraser’s seventeenth goal of the game by sophomore midfielder Travis Hayes (Dublin, CA / Dublin HS) to run the score to 17-6. The games final three goals would belong to the Clan, as junior midfielder Brendan Farrell (Milton, ON / St. Michael’s College), preceded markers from Foster and Ransom to seal the decisive victory by a final score of 20-6.

SFU will continue a string of PNCLL North Divisional games to end the season by travelling to the Palouse where they will face Washington State on April 12 and Idaho on April 13, before returning home for their final game of the regular season versus Montana on April 20.

Washington will also round out their Divisional schedule with a game at Idaho on April 14, before hosting Montana on April 21.

For further information on Simon Fraser men’s lacrosse please visit www.sfulacrosse.com or follow the Clan on Twitter at www.twitter.com/fraserlacrosse.

SIMON FRASER (8-5) 5-4-7-4/20
WASHINGTON (3-8) 2-2-0-2/6

GOALS: SFU: Dow-4, Davalos-3, Foster-3, Knuttila-2, Bohl, Farrell, Hayes, Lasher, McIntosh, Quon, Ransom, Stroup. UW: Brown-2, Crane-2, Lonsway, Redhair.

ASSISTS: SFU: Ransom-3, Clare-2, Dow-2, Branting, Davalos, Lasher, Wanzer. UW: Brown-2, Redhair.

NOTES

- Clan goaltenders Kyle Middleton (Nanaimo, BC / Woodlands Secondary) and Darren Zwack (Sherwood Park, AB / Archbishop Jordan HS) continued to share the SFU net, making a combined 5 saves, in limited action.

- Simon Fraser recorded a 52-24 advantage in ground balls. Sophomore midfielder Sam Clare (Ladner, BC / Vancouver College) led the Clan with 9, while Wanzer and Quon picked-up 8 and 6 groundballs respectively.

- SFU also dominated the face-off box, winning 82% of the draws by going a combined 22 of 27. Clare (10 of 11 = 91%) and sophomore James Irwin (6 of 8 = 75%) both registered career-highs for face-off winning percentages, while Quon also put up impressive numbers, winning 6 of 8 (75%).

QUOTES

SFU Head Coach Brent Hoskins

On Washington: “Washington is continuing to carve out an identity, with a number of nice pieces on offence and a defense that competes hard for 60:00 minutes. I like the direction that Coach Cerchiara is trying to take the Huskies. We were able to beat them on depth this evening but I don’t think that they are that far from turning the corner.”

On Simon Fraser: “Tonight was a real good team win for us. We played a multitude of combinations on both sides of the ball and it was nice to see different guys gel, which really seemed to fuel our momentum over a full four quarters. We have worked hard to develop our depth all season and believe that this will be a real strength as we begin to make a push towards playoffs.”

ABOUT SIMON FRASER MEN’S LACROSSE
Simon Fraser University Men’s Lacrosse will compete in its eighteenth season in 2013 and is a Division I member of the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA). The Clan have captured a record eight PNCLL Conference Titles (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2008 and 2009) and rank sixth all-time with ten MCLA National Championship tournament appearances, placing 2nd in 1999 and playing in the 2010 MCLA Semi-Finals after reaching the Quarterfinals in 2008 and 2009.

Simon Fraser University is Canada’s top-ranked comprehensive university and one of the top 50 universities in the world under 50 years old. With campuses in Vancouver, Burnaby and Surrey, B.C., SFU engages actively with the community in its research and teaching, delivers almost 150 programs to more than 30,000 students, and has more than 120,000 alumni in 130 countries.

Robert White was on the scene to capture some of the best action shots from the game and sent them over so we could showcase them to you. Enjoy!

Oregon State vs. Loyola Marymount

Oregon State vs. Claremont

Simon Fraser Win Streak Stopped 11-9 by Davenport

Event: Men’s Lacrosse
Site: Davenport University (Grand Rapids, MI)
Score: Simon Fraser University 9, Davenport University 11
Record: SFU (7-5, 0-0 PNCLL Div. I North), DU (7-2, 2-0 CCLA)
Next SFU Game: Saturday, April 6, 2013, 7:00pm PDT – vs. University of Washington – Burnaby, BC (SFU Terry Fox Field)

GRAND RAPIDS, MI (April 4, 2013) – Following consecutive wins over current No. 23 Virginia Tech (11-9), Illinois (7-2) and now No. 13 Michigan State (10-9), Simon Fraser had their three-game win streak snapped 10-8 by Davenport on Sunday, March 31, concluding a three-game swing through Illinois and Michigan that moved the Clan to 7-5 on the season.

With important out-of-conference (OOC) victories over Illinois and Michigan State, who was ranked No. 9 heading into their match-up the day prior, SFU moved up to No. 19 in this week’s Nike / Inside Lacrosse MCLA Top 25 Poll, while Davenport climbed to No. 16 with the win.

Simon Fraser was once again led by senior attackman Eric Ransom (Sherwood Park, AB / Bev Facey HS) – 2g, 4a, who recorded his second straight 6-point outing, to improve his impressive total to 15 points (7g, 8a) on the trip (3 games). Davenport senior goaltender Eric Lindstrom (Lansing, MI / Waverly HS) played outstanding for the Panthers making 22 saves for a .710 save percentage, as the Clan outshot DU by a wide margin, firing 57 shots in the contest.

SFU opened the scoring with Ransom assisting fellow attackman Ward Spencer (Saskatoon, SK / Evan Hardy Collegiate), followed by midfielder Sam Clare (Ladner, BC / Vancouver College), to give the Clan an early 2-0 lead. Despite controlling the initial pace to start the match-up, Fraser would begin to play unsettled, opening the door for Davenport to even the score at 2-2 to end the first quarter on goals by Dominic Boggiano (Grand Rapids, MI / Forest Hills Eastern) and Chapin White (Clarkston, MI / Clarkston, HS).

Ransom would again kick-start the scoring in the second frame, this time feeding freshman midfielder Jordan Lashar (Burnaby, BC / Burnaby South Secondary) for the first goal of his collegiate career, to reclaim the lead at 3-2. Multiple turnovers by the Clan would hand Davenport the momentum the rest of the half, allowing the Panthers to go on a 5-goal run to lead 7-3 at the intermission.

In familiar territory down 4-goals, after trailing Michigan State 6-2 the day prior, two more goals by DU out of the break would extend the Davenport lead to six at 9-3 to start the third quarter and cap-off a 7-0 run for the Panthers. The Clan would slowly begin to mount their second straight comeback attempt, with Ransom finding junior Frank Davalos (Moose Jaw, SK / Albert E. Peacock Collegiate), followed-up by Clare’s second of the game, to close the score to 9-5, but a final goal by DU attackman Lyle Parks (Troy, MI / Troy MI) would temporarily stall the Clan efforts and provide Davenport with some breathing room at 10-5 heading down the stretch.

Simon Fraser once again appeared to flip the switch in the final period, regaining their form displayed early in the match-up and racing out with four unanswered goals to make things interesting at 10-9 with little time left on the clock. Sophomore midfielder Travis Hayes (Dublin, CA / Dublin HS) initiated the Clan run, backed-up by continued strong play from Ransom with an assist to freshman Andrew Branting (Duncan, BC / Cowichan Secondary) sandwiched between two goals of his own, to narrow the gap to a single goal. Unfortunately for SFU, it would be too little, too late, as Parks would continue to play spoiler, adding his game-high third goal of the game to seal the Panthers’ win by a final score of 11-9.

Davenport will look to add to their OOC resume when they return to action on April 5 to take on No. 23 Virginia Tech. SFU will now enter an important stretch of four straight Divisional games starting with Washington at home on April 6, as the Clan look to claim their sixth straight regular season title in the PNCLL North.

For further information on Simon Fraser men’s lacrosse please visit www.sfulacrosse.com or follow the Clan on Twitter at www.twitter.com/fraserlacrosse.

SIMON FRASER (7-5) 2-1-2-4/9
DAVENPORT (7-2) 2-5-3-1/11

GOALS: SFU: Clare-2, Ransom-2, Branting, Davalos, Hayes, Lashar, Spencer. DU: Parks-3, Boggiano-2, White-2, Adkins, Cross, Hume, Richtsmeier.

ASSISTS: SFU: Ransom-4, Farrell. DU: Richtsmeier-2, Hume, Fata.

NOTES

- Clan goaltenders Kyle Middleton (Nanaimo, BC / Woodlands Secondary) and Darren Zwack (Sherwood Park, AB / Archbishop Jordan HS) continued to share the SFU net make 4 saves with 7 goals against, and 8 saves with 4 goals against, while playing the first and second halves respectively.

- Simon Fraser picked-up 39 ground balls. Sophomore attackman Ward Spencer led the Clan with 6, followed by four SFU players each with 4: Travis Hayes, Marcus Quon (Vancouver, BC / Kitsilano Secondary), Alex Thomson (Coquitlam, BC / Gleneagle Secondary) and Riley Wanzer (Mukilteo, WA / Kamiak HS).

- SFU went a combined 13 of 23 on draws, winning 57% of the game’s face-offs. Clare continued to carry the bulk of the workload going 8 of 13 (62%), while sophomore James Irwin (Burnaby, BC / Burnaby South Secondary) – 3/6 and freshmen Marcus Quon – 2/4, both went 50% in relief.

QUOTES

SFU Head Coach Brent Hoskins

On Davenport: “Davenport is very dangerous in transition and really likes to push the pace. Normally this would fit in well with our style of lacrosse but today we lost sight of what makes us successful in between the lines and allowed them to run away from us, leading to several goals on the fast break. The Panthers also did a good job of forcing us to take a lot of shots from the outside, while Lindstrom robbed us from gaining any momentum when DU was going on their run in the second quarter, creating too big of a hole for us to climb out of over the back half.”

On Simon Fraser: “It would be easy to blame today’s loss on the potential let down from coming off of yesterday’s big win over Michigan State but we plain and simple didn’t show the level of focus and execution that we needed to. The first two goals seemed to come easy for us and from there we simply strayed away from our game plan. As still a relatively young team, that is something that has haunted us at different points of the season but fortunately for the most part we have been able to deal with it and comeback in the games when we needed to. Hopefully this will be the last set back of that nature in our learning process and we will be able to look back on this loss as one that made us stronger heading into next month’s stretch run.”

ABOUT SIMON FRASER MEN’S LACROSSE
Simon Fraser University Men’s Lacrosse will compete in its eighteenth season in 2013 and is a Division I member of the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA). The Clan have captured a record eight PNCLL Conference Titles (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2008 and 2009) and rank sixth all-time with ten MCLA National Championship tournament appearances, placing 2nd in 1999 and playing in the 2010 MCLA Semi-Finals after reaching the Quarterfinals in 2008 and 2009.

Simon Fraser University is Canada’s top-ranked comprehensive university and one of the top 50 universities in the world under 50 years old. With campuses in Vancouver, Burnaby and Surrey, B.C., SFU engages actively with the community in its research and teaching, delivers almost 150 programs to more than 30,000 students, and has more than 120,000 alumni in 130 countries.

The 8^th ranked Oregon Duckes are in Berkeley to take on the 11^th ranked CAL Bears in an out of conference MCLA lacrosse game.  In the last five meeting of these teams, the home team has prevailed.  Oregon is lead by senior attack Matt Johnson and CAL is riding senior attack Dan Cohen.  Cohen scores an incredible five goals and Sean Hayden gets a hat trick as CAL successfully defends their home field advantage with a 12-7 win.

Check out all of BHS Video Dad’s videos on MCLA Fan here.

No. 25 Simon Fraser Upends No. 9 Michigan State 10-9

Event: Men’s Lacrosse
Site: Oxford High School (Oxford, MI)
Score: No. 25 Simon Fraser University 10, No. 9 Michigan State University 9
Record: SFU (7-4, 0-0 PNCLL Div. I North), MSU (5-2, 2-0 CCLA)
Next SFU Game: Sunday, March 31, 2013, 2:00pm EDT – vs. Davenport University – Grand Rapids, MI (Davenport University Turf Field)

OXFORD, MI (March 30, 2013) – Down 6-2 after 30:00 minutes, No. 25 Simon Fraser went on an 8-3 run in the second half, scoring the winner with just 0:07 seconds left on the clock to upend No. 9 Michigan State by a final score of 10-9. After striking first to open the contest, Senior Eric Ransom (Sherwood Park, AB / Bev Facey HS) was near unstoppable in the third quarter, scoring a natural hattrick and then adding an assist in the final frame to record a game-high 6 points, on 4 goals and 2 assists. Fellow attackman Ward Spencer (Saskatoon, SK / Evan Hardy Collegiate) also had a strong game for the Clan with a goal and 3 helpers, including an assist on the winning goal scored by freshman midfielder Andrew Branting (Duncan, BC / Cowichan Secondary). The 25th-ranked Clan continue to try and claw their way back up the polls, now having three Top 20 victories to the credit, with previous wins over current No. 17 Oregon State (11-8) and No. 18 Virginia Tech (11-9), to sit at 7-4 on the season.

Ransom and Spencer connected to open the scoring and put the Clan up 1-0 following a lengthy SFU possession to start the first quarter. Michigan State would find their legs midway through the period as senior Tyler Ryan (Grosse Ile, MI / Grosse, Ile HS) scored back-to-back, first at even strength on a midfield drive, and then on the man-up, to give the Spartans a 2-1 lead heading into the second quarter.

MSU would continue their run into the second frame as Ryan assisted attackman Mitchell Hall (Farmington Hills, MI / Farmington HS) to extend the Spartan lead to two at 3-1, followed by goals from midfielders Patrick Green (Stamford, CT / Westhill HS) and Spencer Martin (Grosse Pointe Park, MI / University of Detroit Jesuit) to put Michigan State up by four at 5-1. A Clan man-up would be just what was needed to stop the bleeding, allowing Ransom to find sophomore Sam Clare (Ladner, BC / Vancouver College) to reset the score to 5-2. MSU attackman Josh Nemes (Farmington Hills, MI / University of Detroit Jesuit) would add one more for the Spartans to cap-off a 6-1 run and reclaim a 4-goal lead heading into the break.

Simon Fraser would come out undeterred following the intermission, with Clare’s second of the game sparking a 5-0 quarter for SFU, as the Clan came storming back from being four goals down to turn the tables and claim a one-goal lead at 7-6 heading down the stretch. Junior attackman Frank Davalos (Moose Jaw, SK / Albert E. Peacock Collegiate) scored Fraser’s fourth goal of the game, followed by three straight goals by Ransom to give SFU the one-goal advantage.

Ransom continued to spark the Fraser offense in the fourth quarter, as he found freshman midfielder Matt Bailey (Richmond, BC / H.J. Cambie Secondary) to complete a 6-0 run and push the SFU lead to two at 8-6. Michigan State refused to let the Clan pull away, as this time it was Josh Nemes’ turn to put his team on his back, assisting Green’s second of the day, and then scoring consecutively to take back the momentum, along with a one-goal lead for the Spartans at 9-8. With the action now going end-to-end, Spencer rifled a pass from fellow sophomore Travis Hayes (Dublin, CA / Dublin HS) to tie the game at 9-9 and set that stage for a dramatic finish with under a minute left on the clock. MSU would win the resulting face-off but aggressive play by the Clan in transition would force a quick turnover, sending the ball towards the sidelines off of an SFU stick. Diving to save the ball from going out-of-bounds, Branting would keep it in play, batting the ball across the restraining line and into the attack zone. Senior attackman Colton Dow (Coquitlam, BC / Heritage Woods Secondary) would come up with the ball out of the scrum, maintaining possession just long enough for the Clan bench to call a quick time-out with just 0:16 seconds remaining. Running a set play, Spencer would find Branting in front of the MSU net, as a quick stick beat the Spartan keeper to give Simon Fraser the final lead of the game at 10-9. The Clan would tie up the ball on the ensuing draw to kill off the lingering 0:07 seconds and seal the come-from-behind win.

Senior Kyle Middleton (Nanaimo, BC / Woodlands Secondary) and junior Darren Zwack (Sherwood Park, AB / Archbishop Jordan HS) continued to split time in the Fraser net, each playing a half for the third straight game. Middleton made 9 saves, with 6 goals against (.600) over the first two quarters, along with several key stops to keep the game within reach, while Zwack played equally as impressive in the second half making 8 saves, with 4 goals against (.727). The goaltending tandem have been outstanding in the games that they have shared, posting a combined .649 save percentage in three straight wins over teams that qualified for the 2012 National Tournament.

Simon Fraser will conclude their Midwest swing on Sunday, March 31 as they take on No. 24 Davenport in Grand Rapids Michigan, before returning home to play Washington on Saturday, April 6.

Michigan State will now enter a stretch of Divisional play with three straight games versus CCLA opponents in Western Michigan on April 4, No. 22 Pittsburgh on April 6 and Ohio University on April 7.

For further information on Simon Fraser men’s lacrosse please visit www.sfulacrosse.com or follow the Clan on Twitter at www.twitter.com/fraserlacrosse.

SIMON FRASER (7-4) 1-1-5-3/10
MICHIGAN STATE (5-2) 2-4-0-3/9

GOALS: SFU: Ransom-4, Clare-2, M. Bailey, Branting, Davalos, Spencer. MSU: Nemes-3, Green-2, Ryan-2, Hall, Martin.

ASSISTS: SFU: Spencer-3, Ransom-2, Dow, Farrell, Hayes. MSU: Meyers, Nemes, Ryan.

NOTES

- Despite a season-low 32 ground balls, Simon Fraser fought to make every possession count, adding 7 caused turnovers to their efforts.

- SFU also had to work extra hard in between the lines, winning only 26% of the game’s face-offs, going a combined 5 of 19 on draws. Clare 2/9 = 22%, Irwin 2/5 = 20%, Quon 2/4 = 50%, Wanzer 0/1.

QUOTES

SFU Head Coach Brent Hoskins

On Michigan State: “Michigan State is a very well rounded team. They really challenged us over a full 60:00 minutes and we needed to be at our best in the second half to pull out the win in the dying seconds.”

On Simon Fraser: “This was a great character win for us and we are really proud of the guys for how they battled through adversity and stuck together after Michigan State went on a run in the first half. Nothing came easy throughout the game and it took a lot of perseverance to put ourselves in a position to win when it mattered the most. All 32 guys stepped on the field today and contributed valuable minutes which makes this win most satisfying.”

ABOUT SIMON FRASER MEN’S LACROSSE
Simon Fraser University Men’s Lacrosse will compete in its eighteenth season in 2013 and is a Division I member of the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA). The Clan have captured a record eight PNCLL Conference Titles (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2008 and 2009) and rank sixth all-time with ten MCLA National Championship tournament appearances, placing 2nd in 1999 and playing in the 2010 MCLA Semi-Finals after reaching the Quarterfinals in 2008 and 2009.

Simon Fraser University is Canada’s top-ranked comprehensive university and one of the top 50 universities in the world under 50 years old. With campuses in Vancouver, Burnaby and Surrey, B.C., SFU engages actively with the community in its research and teaching, delivers almost 150 programs to more than 30,000 students, and has more than 120,000 alumni in 130 countries.