CONWAY, Ark. - The top-seeded Eastern Kentucky University women's soccer team punched its ticket to the fourth conference tournament final in program history, edging No. 2 seed Tarleton State 3-2 in a penalty shootout in the United Athletic Conference semifinals.
Jordan LeVasseur played the game of her life. The sophomore UAC Goalkeeper of the Year buried the deciding penalty kick after making six saves to shut out the league's top-ranked offense through 110 minutes.
EKU set the tone defensively from the opening whistle, holding Tarleton State without a shot in the first half and limiting the Texans to six shots on goal over 110 minutes.
Offensively, the Colonels controlled 63 percent of possession in the opening 45 minutes and put four of their seven shots on target. All-UAC First Team forward
Avery May was at the center of three early chances.
In the 11th minute,
Chiara Premoli threaded a pass through the middle after EKU turned away a Tarleton State attack, sending May one-on-one with the goalkeeper. May shot wide right. A couple of minutes later, she pounced on a rebound in the box, but the Texans' goalkeeper denied her from point-blank range.
May threatened again in the 22nd minute when the wind carried a Tarleton State defender's clearance back toward goal. She went up for a header, but the ball sailed just beyond her reach.
Tarleton State looked to spring Zahra Friess with long balls behind the EKU defense. LeVasseur came off her line to clear them before Friess could get a touch, and the teams went into halftime scoreless.
Friess registered Tarleton State's first shot of the match around the 65th minute. Adelaide Wyrzynski followed with the Texans' first effort on target, which LeVasseur turned away. Four minutes later, Tarleton State fired off four shots in a two-minute span, but the Colonels held firm to send the match to extra time at 0-0.
Both teams came close to finding the winner in extra time. Premoli found
Peyton Smith on the right side of the box, and Smith took a touch before driving a shot toward the far corner. The Tarleton State goalkeeper dove to keep it out.
In the 101st minute, a Tarleton State shot struck the crossbar. The Texans reached the rebound, but LeVasseur saved the follow-up to preserve the shutout and send the semifinal to penalties.
The shootout opened with a matchup between two of the league's top award winners. LeVasseur dove to deny UAC Offensive Player of the Year Jessica Baires with her shin. After EKU and Tarleton State each missed,
Hinami Ogushi tucked her penalty into the bottom-left corner to put the Colonels ahead 1-0. The Texans answered to level the shootout.
Three straight misses followed before Tarleton State took a 2-1 lead in the fifth round. With EKU down to its last kick,
Nicki Klosterman buried her penalty high down the middle to force sudden death.
The Texans missed to open the sixth round, finishing 2-for-6 from the spot. That left LeVasseur with a chance to finish what she started. She stepped to the spot and buried the deciding penalty to send the Colonels to the final.
EKU (11-6-3, 6-2-2 UAC) will face Red Division No. 1 seed Abilene Christian in the UAC Tournament final Saturday night in Conway. The Wildcats advanced with a win over No. 2 seed North Alabama.
The teams played to a 1-1 draw in the regular season. With EKU trailing 1-0, LeVasseur saved a penalty kick in the 71st minute. Three minutes later,
Rachel Phifer ran onto a through ball from Premoli and sent her shot into the top-right corner for the equalizer.
With a win Saturday, the Colonels would earn their first-ever postseason championship.
