Greenville, SC – In the teams’ first meeting since the 2009 season, the #1 Colorado State Rams leaned on a stalwart defensive effort and balanced scoring to take down #7 Sonoma State in the MCLA quarterfinals on Tuesday evening. The Rams were tested throughout by the Seawolves, but steadily pulled away en route to their 9-4 win. CSU’s win moves them into the MCLA semifinals on Thursday afternoon – a trip they have made for three consecutive years.
In a tightly contested first quarter, senior midfielder Josh Gregg (Columbine HS / Littleton, CO) got the scoring going on a spectacular individual effort while the Rams were man-down. The teams traded goals at the end of the first period, giving CSU a 2-1 lead heading into the second.
After the teams traded goals again to put the lead at 3-2 for the Rams, senior Alex Devlin (Langley HS / Langley, VA) and senior face-off midfielder Dan Warfield (Smoky Hill HS / Aurora, CO) jammed home goals just 11 seconds apart in a key sequence that allowed CSU some breathing room at halftime with a 5-2 lead.
The third quarter was again closely contested as the CSU defense shut out Sonoma’s offense, including Gregg striking again again after weaving through the defense on the opening draw of the quarter. Mike Wolff (Don Bosco Prep / Ramsey, NJ) added a man-up goal to make it 7-2 heading into the fourth. From there, things got increasingly sloppy for both teams as the Rams held off the Seawolves’ comeback bid for the 9-4 win.
Wolff led all scorers by adding an assist to his two goals while junior Sean Smith (Amherst HS / Amherst, NY) had two assists for the Rams as well. Brad Bochesa had two goals for Sonoma to lead the Seawolves. Junior Koltin Fatzinger (Wheat Ridge HS / Thornton, CO) was terrific in goal for the Rams in the second half, making five big saves.
The win puts Colorado State (19-0 overall) in the MCLA semifinals for the third straight season, where they will play RMLC rival and 4th seeded BYU. The Rams and Cougars met in the 2011 and 2012 semifinals with each team taking a game each en route to their national championships. BYU got to the semifinals by virtue of a 17-14 win over #12 Oregon. On the other side of the bracket, #2 Colorado took care of #7 Michigan State 9-2 and #3 Arizona State rocked #6 UCSB 15-5.