Box Score

BURNABY, British Columbia – In the fleeting seconds Saturday night in Canada, Rene Duevel stepped up and made a winner out of the Crusaders.

Duevel scored on a loose-ball scramble with 8 seconds left in the second overtime, completing an improbably comeback for the Northwest Nazarene men's soccer team, which erased a 2-0 halftime deficit and topped host Simon Fraser, 3-2, in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.

"Anyone looking at Simon Fraser's start on paper and assuming anything has changed would be wrong because they are an exceptional team," NNU men's soccer head coach Coe Michaelson said. "We knew their back was against the wall and they would throw everything they have at us in the first half."

The Clan – which have played in the NCAA Division II National Semifinals each of the last two seasons – jumped in front on a goal by Niko Schroettle with just 9 minutes, 44 seconds gone in the game.

Alexander Kleefedlt made it 2-0 in the 34^th minute, and it remained that way until 8:42 had ticked off the clock in the season half.

That's when Yannick Petzschke headed home his first goal as a Crusader off a pass from Nathan Murphy, bringing NNU to life.

"To respond the way we did shows our character," Michaelson said. "We knew the next goal was key and would change the game one way or the other."

A red card on the Clan (2-2-2, 0-1-2) just seconds later aided the NNU comeback, and Michael Mollay tied the game with his second goal just 3:01 after Petzschke's marker.

Then it remained deadlocked at 2-2, despite NNU holding a man advantage on the Clan.

Just as it looked like the game might end in a draw, the Crusaders where awarded a free kick after a foul in the final seconds, and Duevel capitalized on the chaos of a loose-ball scramble in front of the Simon Fraser goal, booting home the dramatic winner.

"I'm so proud of our effort and our spirit," Michaelson said. "It's vital that we continue with the same kind of grit and quality we showed tonight."

The win was the second in the last three seasons for NNU on Simon Fraser's home turf, and just the second home loss for the Clan since 2010.

The Crusaders, winners of five straight, now return home looking to extend their win streak when they host South Dakota Schools of Mines on Thursday and the University of Mary on Saturday.