(LOS ANGELES) PLNU Men's Soccer continues to make program history.
After winning a first conference championship last week, 10th-seeded Point Loma captured its first-ever NCAA postseason victory on Thursday night with a 3-1 triumph over seventh-seeded Simon Fraser in the Super Region 4 First Round.
"It's a progression," Head Coach
Phil Wolf said. "You win your first trophy and then you go to the NCAA Tournament and try to win a game there. It's a good progression and a good step forward."
Felix Calero opened the scoring in just the seventh minute, heading in a
Juan Salazar free kick into an empty net for Point Loma's first-ever NCAA postseason goal.
Finn Simmersbach then maintained PLNU's lead with a penalty kick save before SFU ultimately found an equalizer in the 38th minute.
"Simon Fraser is a good team," Wolf said. "When we went up 1-0, the game changed. We couldn't quite keep controlling them in the way that we were wanting to. They came back 1-1 and now it's a game.
"I'm really proud that we showed some resilience and I am super happy for the result."
The Sea Lions threatened to retake the lead just seconds before the halftime whistle blew, as
Ryan Doyle's shot was saved straight into the path of
Austin Lavell, whose follow-up was stopped for a corner.
Point Loma then pushed forward in the second half, with
Zachary Mercieca wrecking havoc on the right wing and multiple shots just missing the target.
PLNU was finally rewarded for its efforts in the 76th minute, when Calero beat his defender toward the byline and pulled a ball back for
Marlon Buck to finish and put the Sea Lions back in front.
Mercieca then grazed the far post with a shot before Buck sealed the deal with his second goal of the night just 10 minutes after his first.
The Sea Lions won the ball back off a Red Leafs' goal kick, as Mercieca then slipped Buck through at goal to slot past the keeper.
"The timing on the second goal between Felix and him was magical," Wolf said. "Obviously sliding that last one through was massive. He's had a really good year and has been one of our top guys. I'm super impressed by him. He's a great kid and a really good player."
PLNU saw the rest of the game out to become the first PacWest men's soccer team to win in the NCAA postseason since Cal Baptist in 2017.
Wolf lauded the impact of Mercieca, who sparked PLNU's attack in the second half.
"Zach was probably the next most influential player after Marlon and Felix," Wolf said. "
Austin Lavell did really well as well, but Zach's pace unnerves a team and he's only a freshman. As we begin to grow his game, he has the chance to be a really special winger here."
Point Loma (13-4-1 overall) now advances to the second round on Saturday to take on No. 2 seed Cal State LA, who beat the Sea Lions 3-1 on Sep. 16 in a closely-contested matchup.
"The biggest thing is just recovery because that wasn't an easy game and it was an open game," Wolf said. "Now you have to play LA. They're the best in the business so it's going to be a tough ask but I wouldn't count us out."
Kickoff on Saturday at Cal State LA is scheduled for 6 p.m.
