But just over five minutes into the extra session, the Falcons extended their best season in nearly a decade when sophomore Weston Zeiner headed in a corner kick from sophomore Brennan DaCosta for a 1-0 victory and a spot in the NE-10 semifinals on Friday.

Bentley improved to 11-2-5 with its first playoff victory since 2003.

"It's been a turnaround from the moment I got here trying to change the mentality of the team," third-year coach Gary Crompton said. "We've been trying to get the little details right, working our tails off in the offseason, getting up at 7 a.m. three days a week. The guys who were here for this game were the ones who helped turn that mentality around."

One of those guys is goaltender Mike Nikiforov. A graduate student who has an extra year of eligibility after missing his freshman season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament, Nikoforov has six saves for his sixth consecutive shutout on Tuesday, the day after he was named Northeast-10 Goaltender of the Year.

"I've got to attribute most of that to my front four," Nikoforov said. "They limit the shots that I do see and shots that are pressured, so when I do have to make saves they are pretty easy. Our offensive guys are holding the ball and keeping possession, so that's giving the team less of an opportunity."

Crompton said Nikoforov epitomized the team-first attitude he's looked to develop at Bentley.

"I called Mike (Monday) night to congratulate him," Crompton said. "I told him he got Goalie of the Week. He responded that he was hoping I was going to give him some other good news that our team had moved higher in the national poll. I thought that was great.

"Then I told him the real good news was that he was Player of the Year as a goalkeeper. The first thing out of his mouth was that he had to thank his back for four that. So it was really touching to me. It wasn't like he was full of himself. He was all about the team and he appreciates the guys who do the work in front of him."

The road to being Goalkeeper of the Year hasn't been an easy one for Nikoforov. He tore his anterior cruciate ligament during lacrosse season his senior year at Framingham High. After red-shirting his freshman year, he came back and played as a sophomore and junior, only to tear his other ACL playing a pickup game shortly after the end of his junior year.

"I thought about hanging up the cleats after that," he admitted. "But that fire that's behind me wouldn't let me. I've been doing this all my life. I just didn't have it in me to hang up the boots."

So he rehabbed again and made it back to the pitch for the start of his senior year. By that time, he had already made the decision to pursue a master's degree at Bentley and take advantage of his fifth year of eligibility.

"He worked his tail off to come back," Crompton said. "That one extra year made a big difference. Having that first year to watch and learn, mature physically, and improve as an athlete was significant for him."

Nikoforov agreed that red-shirting gave him a nice "stepping stone" season and is now happy the team has taken a big step forward in its progression as well.

"Gary's come in here the past three years and really changed around the program," he said. "When you look at the scoresheet for our team you see a lot of different people contributing. I think we're the definition of a team. There's no one or two players we're relying on."

Bentley had pressure from several different players on Tuesday before Zeiner's winner, and Nikoforov also got some help from the friendly home crossbar as New Haven bounced a shot off it in the 75^th minute.

That chance came minutes after back-to-back Bentley bids in which DaCosta knocked a ball just over the bar on a free kick in the 71^st minute and junior Ryan Miamis shot one over the bar a minute later.

New Haven had some early pressure in the overtime, but couldn't put a good bid on Nikoforov, before DaCosta and Weiner answered with the golden goal on their first quality chance.

"It was a little stressful," Crompton said. "We had a chance in the first minute of the game when (freshman) Cody (Ross) took it in and just missed a goal. Then we had a number of chances in the second half. But we kept battling and got a special delivery from DaCosta, then Weston Zeiner proved his worth and banged one in for us on an outstanding header."

(Scott Souza can be reached at 781-398-8006 or ssouza@cnc.com.)