Incarnate Word had its season come to an end on Saturday night in the NCAA Division II Men’s Soccer Elite Eight against Simon Fraser with a 1-0 loss at the Grand Canyon University Soccer Field.

The Cardinals (15-4-1) and the Clan (19-1-1) played an evenly matched game throughout with both teams earning their fair share of chances.  The best chance in the first half went to the Cardinals when sophomore Alex de la Garza whistled a shot from outside the box that hit the bottom half of the bar, but did not go in the net.  The rebound try was saved. 

UIW goalkeeper Jared Kahan kept the team in the game in the first half when he stopped a pair of well struck free kicks by Simon Fraser.  He finished the match with three saves.

In the second half, the teams attempted more shots, but had fewer shots on goal.  The Clan defense was able to block a number of the Cardinals shots in the second half and they started to build some momentum on offense with some nice runs down the right side.

De la Garza had another opportunity to score in the 69^th minute when Abraham Campos sent him through on the left side with a nice pass.  Unfortunately, de la Garza’s shot hit the side netting.

Simon Fraser found the back of the net in the 81^st minute.  Chris Bargholz worked his way into the box on the right side near the end line and sent a low cross towards the near post that was punched in by Marco Voegeli at 80:05.

The Cardinals had a few late chances to score with the best coming on a corner kick opportunity in the 89^th minute, but they were unable to convert.

JD Blakely picked up the shutout for the Clan after making three saves.  It was the first time the Cardinals have been shut out this season.  UIW attempted 13 shots while the Clan fired 11.

Simon Fraser advances to the Final Four that will be played in Evans, Ga., in two weeks.