CSUN Scores, Then Saves It in Overtime, 1-0

Two hours of soccer between Cal State Northridge and 17th-ranked Air Force was decided on two heart-stopping plays in overtime of a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament semifinal match Friday night.

Northridge midfielder Yared Gebreyesus, who did not have a goal during the regular season, scored from three yards out nine minutes into the extra period at UCLA’s Spaulding Field.

Twelve minutes later, Air Force forward Rob Behm fired a shot that got past goalkeeper Mark Macdonald but not Mustapha Sesay, who slid along the goal line and knocked the ball away with his foot, preserving Northridge’s 1-0 upset of the Falcons.

The playoff match was Northridge’s first since moving to NCAA Division I in 1990.

The Matadors (12-8) will face UCLA, a 2-1 winner over Stanford, in the tournament final Sunday at UCLA. The winner will receive an automatic berth in the NCAA Division I tournament, which begins Nov. 14.

Gebreyesus was the fourth Matador player to touch the ball on the scoring play. Keith West passed it in front of the Falcons’ goal where it hit Todd Biefeld and Matt Davis before finding Gebreyesus.

Gebreyesus then lifted a shot over diving goalkeeper Matt Mennell and into the middle-left portion of the net.

Sesay’s block 12 minutes later sent Northridge fans into a frenzy.

“Every time there’s a corner kick, (Macdonald) tells me to stay near the post until he tells me to leave, and he didn’t tell me to leave,” said Sesay, a midfielder. “I was just in the right place at the right time.”

Air Force fell to 13-4-1.

Northridge played without its leading scorer, Armando Valdivia, sidelined with a pulled hamstring.