Box Score CLEVELAND, Tenn. – After 90 minutes of regulation and two 10-minute overtime periods, Campbellsville Lady Tiger soccer outlasted Mississippi College in penalty kicks. The games end in a tie, 2-2 but CU advances in the NCCAA Mid-East Regional Tournament.
Brandie Hagerman set the tone from the get-go, saving the very first shot from Mississippi College's Melanie Benner . After the save, Campbellsville's offense stepped up and was perfect in five tries.
After Mhairi Fyfe, Bailey McDonough, Alysen Shireman, and Jessica Ralph all kicked in their PK past MC's goalkeeper, Brittany O'Leary, Toria Alsip stepped up for the biggest kick of her career.
The Cincinnati, Ohio native took a deep breath and started for the ball, once the ball got past O'Leary, Alsip was mauled by her teammates just outside the 18-yard box.
"Although not many people believe it, I am so proud of Toria Alsip," said Jones in his post-game meeting with his team. "For a senior who hasn't got to play as much this season, if she missed it would have broken her down. But if she made it, her confidence and team's confidence would skyrocket. This is a great confidence booster for us."
Campbellsville started the scoring early in the match as Fyfe used a long pass to Ralph and her shot got right past O'Leary, breaking the scoreless tie in the 11th minute.
Mississippi College did not take long to respond as the LAdy Choctaws leading goal scorer, Macey Lee, evened the game at one apiece.
The game went into half-time tied, 1-1.
Campbellsville came out in the second half and put the pedal to floor as opportunities started to come in bunches.
In the 66th minute, Alsip ended up getting loose in the box and was fouled by, O'Leary. Fellow senior Ralph, stepped up for her first PK and her score put the Lady Tigers on top 2-1.
But Campbellsville could not hold Mississippi College down as Kaitlyn Kiss tied the game at 2-2 in the 80th minute
The Lady Tigers had chance-after-chance in the final five minutes of regulation and even in the final 10 seconds, but were unable to come up with the winning goal; sending the game into overtime.
Both teams went into the extra periods and the effects from the long season were starting to show. Many players played the full 100-plus minutes and were gassed at the end. But Campbellsville dug a little deeper.
"The girls didn't give up tonight," said Jones. "I needed this win to get me back on track and they came through big time. I am very proud of my team."
Before the penalty kicks, both teams gathered around their respective coaches to get the lineups and encouraging words.
Although Jones was talking to the whole team, it sounded like his words of encouragement was going towards his senior goalkeeper, Hagerman.
"I told the team that she was one of the best around," said Jones. "And she made me look like a genius by setting the tone on the first save."
The last time CU played in a game that was decided by PKs was in 2011 when the Lady Tigers lost to Asbury in the semifinals of the NCCAA Tournament.
This is the first game since 2009 that Campbellsville has won on PKs. The Lady Tigers beat Bluefield College in the NCCAA play-in game and in 2008, CU beat University of the Cumberlands in the Mid-South Conference semi-finals on PKs.
With the win, Campbellsville moves on to the championship game tomorrow afternoon. The Lady Tigers meet up with host, Lee University. Game time is set for 4 p.m. EST.
PHOTO GALLERY FROM SHOOTOUT AND CELEBRATION
BOX SCORE
PLAY-BY-PLAY
Follow @CvilleTigers on Twitter and www.CampbellsvilleTigers.com
