FRESNO, Calif. – An early goal in the first half of play was all fifth-seeded Simon Fraser needed to get by No. 4 Embry-Riddle in the quarterfinal round of the 51st Annual NAIA Men's Soccer National Championships, Wednesday at Fresno Pacific's Ramirez Field. With the 1-0 win, the Clan (19-3) advanced to the Final Four, while the Eagles ended their season at 14-4-4.

The game began with the Eagles having a slight advantage in the possession, playing much of the opening minutes in the Clan half of the field. But neither team was able to get a shot off in the first nine minutes of play as each squad tried to find its rhythm.

At the 9:11 mark, the Clan won a free kick about 20 yards off the midfield line. Simon Fraser took its time setting up the set piece and that patience paid off as Max Bessato headed home Gary Badesha's in-swinging free kick to put the Clan up 1-0.

The Eagles had two chances to tie the game in the first half, including Sam Litchfield's blast from the right and Ryan Maloney's attempt from point blank range. But on both occasions, Simon Fraser goalkeeper Hide Ozawa displayed quick reflexes to save both shots and keep the Eagles off the board in the first frame.

As the second half progressed, the Eagles continued to created more chances to score, including back-to-back shots that were blocked by Clan defenders in the 52nd minute. Despite outshooting Simon Fraser in the second 45 minutes of play 7-2, the Eagles were unable to net the equalizer, bowing out in the quarterfinals with the one-goal loss.

Although the Eagles exited from the national tournament sooner than they would have liked, the 2009 season will go down as yet another successful campaign under the direction of head coach David Gregson. In addition to advancing to the national Elite Eight, ERAU captured the program's seventh 2009 Sun Conference regular season and tournament titles. Senior Viktor Bergstrand set new single-season and career marks for shutouts with nine and 17, respectively and finishes at No. 3 on the Eagles' all-time goals against average list at .98. Maloney also worked his way into the record books, setting a new single-game record for points (13) against Johnson & Wales (Sept. 14) and tying the single-game mark for goals in that contest. The junior also tied the single-season shot record with 101 and topped the single-season game-winner list with eight, which was also the best in the nation.