NCAA Soccer Semifinals : San Diego State Beats Harvard in Shootout, 2-1

San Diego State goalie Bryan Finnerty twice deflected shots by Harvard’s Mark Pepper in a shootout after two scoreless overtimes, and the Aztecs won, 2-1, Saturday in a semifinal game of the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. soccer tournament.

The Aztecs (20-5) will play Clemson (17-5-1) for the championship today.

Clemson, seeking its second championship in four years, got a pair of goals from Pearce Tormey and defeated North Carolina, 4-1, in the other semifinal.

San Diego State trailed, 1-0, after 45 minutes on a goal by Derek Mills off an assist from Paul Baverstock at the 19:40 mark of the first half. The Aztecs tied it at the 79:11 mark when Brad Walsh drove in a header from close range.

Both teams missed opportunities in the first two 10-minute overtime periods before Finnerty’s saves, forcing the shootout. With the score tied, 3-3, in the shootout, Walsh scored on a shot to the left corner of the net.

But it took two saves by Finnerty to clinch the victory. Finnerty stopped Pepper’s first shot but was ruled to have moved too soon, giving Pepper another chance. But Finnerty again stopped Pepper’s shot to send the Aztecs into the championship game.

Harvard’s David Kramer missed an opportunity to give his team the victory at 4-3 in the shootout when his kick sailed high.

It was the first loss of the season for Harvard (14-1-3).

“I thought we were going to win in regulation, in overtime and in penalty kicks,” Harvard Coach Mike Getman said. “Our players were confident, and I had confidence in them. It just didn’t work out well.”

San Diego State Coach Chuck Clegg, whose team was down, 3-2, with two shots left in the shootout and seemingly beaten, said he was relieved to win.

“Anytime you get into a shoot-out, anything can happen,” he said. “The biggest thing that happens is that you tense up and sometimes miss shots you shouldn’t.

“I was happy with the way we played,” he said. “Two-thirds of the time we did really well, but for 30 minutes or so they really took it to us.”

The Aztecs had 18 shots, one fewer than Harvard. Both Finnerty and Harvard goalie Stephen Hall had four saves.

North Carolina (20-5) had beaten Clemson twice during the regular season by 2-1 scores. Both games were at North Carolina.

“The first two games against North Carolina were very physical,” Clemson Coach I.M. Ibrahim said. “But the surroundings had a lot to do with it. We have a much larger field, which opened it up and made the game less physical.”

Clemson, which won the national championship in 1984, used a quick passing game to take away much of North Carolina’s physical advantage.