CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
BOX SCORE
TAMPA, FLA. – It took 110 minutes of action and penalty kicks to decide the winner of the first semifinal game between No. 1 SMU and No. 4 Tulsa, and the Hurricane came out on top over the regular season champion Mustangs Friday evening at Corbett Stadium. Tulsa advanced 4-3 on penalty kicks and will face the winner of No. 3 UConn and host and second-seeded USF in the championship finale on Sunday.
Tulsa (7-6-5) scored the first goal of the game in the 20th minute on a penalty kick by Geoffrey Dee before SMU’s Idi Camara tied things up on a penalty kick in the 41st minute.
The two teams were tied 1-1 at the half and the score remained that way until Bradley Bourgeois’ header gave the Hurricane a 2-1 lead in the 61st minute.
SMU defender Jared Rice responded with an unassisted goal on a corner kick with two minutes remaining in regulation to make the score 2-2, sending the game to overtime.
Both overtime periods were fairly even, as neither side could convert scoring chances. Mustang keeper Michael Nelson made saves in the 101st and 108th minutes and after 110 scoreless minutes, the game went to penalty kicks.
Dee, who assisted on Bourgeois’ goal, finished with three points in the match. The Golden Hurricane led 21-10 in shots and held a 12-5 advantage in corner kicks. Goalkeeper Jake McGuire made three saves for Tulsa, while Nelson stopped five shots in the net for SMU.
Mauro Cichero and Brendan Lee each had three shots apiece for the Mustangs (13-2-4). Geoffrey Dee and Juan Sanchez each logged a team-high five shot attempts for the Golden Hurricane.
Sunday’s championship match will begin at 2 p.m. ET, and can been seen live on ESPNU.