BISMARCK, N.D. -- Third-ranked Simon Fraser traveled east to North Dakota and battled the Mary Marauders to a 2-2 draw on Thursday night.
The Clan fought back from being a goal down twice in the contest to force overtime, but could not find the game-winning goal.
"This game was a great example of how tough it is to play in the GNAC," head coach Alan Koch said. "Two flights and a two-hour time change, and we get to play a spirited University of Mary on their home pitch. They gave us a really good run for our money."
The home side went up 1-0 in the 39th minute when Clan goalkeeper Brandon Watson's pass was intercepted by Rory Pratt who scored to give the Marauders the lead.
Neither side scored again until the 81st minute when a Joseph Martin goal started what would prove to be a wild finish to the match.
Martin scored on a rebound that he put into the left side of the goal.
The score was not tied long as Mary answered back, taking the lead in the 85th minute when Joe Wood scored for the Marauders on a free kick.
SFU responded immediately though, as less than a minute later, Juan Sanchez scored on a header to send the game to overtime.
With eight seconds remaining in the second overtime period, Chris Bargholz took a shot that went wide left as the match came to an end in a draw.
The Clan outshot the Marauders 11-4.
"Credit to our players for coming back from behind twice, but these are the matches that you need to win on the road. We will re-group and head down to Rapid City [Friday]. I expect to see a much better performance from our team on Saturday," finished Koch.
With the tie, the Clan's record moves to 10-1-1 on the season, 6-1-1 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
