Box Score CLINTON, Iowa - Everything seemed to be pointing to another semifinal penalty shootout on Friday evening, but Ibrahima Sissoko felt otherwise as the junior forward slipped past the Cal State San Marcos backline and brought the match to an end with just 26 seconds left in second overtime to seal a 2-1 win for the No. 12 Georgia Gwinnett men's soccer team over the 25th-ranked Cougars on the campus of Ashford.

"Winning these kinds of matches has kind of been our M.O. this year," GGC Head Coach Steve DeCou said. "We haven't had too many matches that we didn't have to fight to win this season. We're accustomed to it, and the guys just did a great job."

With the win, the Grizzlies improve to 11-2-2 on the season and advance to Saturday's A.I.I. championship match against Houston-Victoria. Earlier in the evening, UHV sent host No. 2 Ashford home on penalties after coming from behind to tie up the match at 3-3.

For part of the early goings, it looked like CSUSM held the advantage over GGC, but they didn't have an answer for goalkeeper Lewis Sharpe, who largely held the Cougars at bay for much of the evening. The towering sophomore out of Durham, England, was named all-conference on Thursday, and he backed up the designation with seven saves.

"Lewis' saves were the difference tonight," DeCou said. "He's been one of our best players all year. We'd probably be heading home at the end of regulation if it wasn't for him, and his performance tonight was great. Really, what he's given us all year has been great. If we had to name an MVP for the whole season, it might be Lewis."

Despite the Cougars taking nine shots in the opening half, it would be GGC that broke the deadlock as Juan Giraldo finished off a Samuel Sampaio Gomes cross from point-blank range in the 32nd minute.

Unfortunately for the Grizzlies, Eric Lopez struck back on a breakaway in the 72nd minute to tie it up and ultimately force overtime.

GGC looked the most likely to score for much of the extra periods, but after Sissoko misplayed a ball with two minutes left in the second period, the match seemed destined for penalties. It was not to be, however, as Sissoko made up for it a minute later as he took a feed from Giraldo and notched his third goal of the season.

"That was just a great goal," DeCou said. "Teams have keyed in more on him this year, so he hasn't had the goal numbers as he had in years past. You have to like the resilience of coming back after that missed chance to score a goal like that."

The win extended the Green and Gray's unbeaten streak out to six matches, and the team will look to grab a second consecutive A.I.I. crown on Saturday. Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m. Central.

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