WEATHERFORD, Okla. — Southern Nazarene ended the 2016 season with a heartbreaking 3-3 tie, decided by penalty kicks (4-2 SWOSU), to Southwestern Oklahoma State in the GAC Championships semifinal Thursday afternoon.Â
The Storm got on the scoreboard first as they benefited from a Bulldog errant pass that resulted in an own goal that gave SNU an early 1-0 lead in the 22
nd minute.Â
Southwestern Oklahoma State tied the game up at 1-1 when Ashlyn Collier scored her eighth goal of the season in the 30
th minute off of an assist from Sandra Nabweteme.
Neither team scored a second goal in the first half. The Storm finished the first half with just one shot, while SWOSU attempted 12 shots with five on goal.
The Storm retook the lead in the 58
th minute when
Hannah Robinson scored her sixth goal of the season. The Bulldogs wasted no time and scored their second goal of the game three minutes later in the 61
st minute. Sandra Nabweteme scored her 20
th goal of the season off of a penalty kick.
Southern Nazarene retook the lead in the 71
st minute when
Rebekah Abrego headed in her first goal of the season off of an
Alyssa Glitzke corner kick.Â
Leading 3-2 late in the game, Southern Nazarene neared pulling off an upset against the top-seeded SWOSU. However, Sarah Wilson scored her first goal of the season for the Bulldogs off of an Alimata Rabo assist in the 84
th minute. The game remained knotted up at 3-3 for the remainder of the half.
SNU finished the second half taking four shots with two on goal. The Bulldogs attempted four shots with two shots on goal.
The game went through two overtime periods with neither team gaining a significant advantage as their were only six shots taken with just one on goal thru both overtime periods. The game ended in a 3-3 tie, going into a shootout to determine the winner. The Bulldogs edged out the Storm in penalties 4-2, allowing SWOSU to advanced to the GAC Championship game.
Natasha Fuentes recorded eight saves for Southern Nazarene and Courtney Flores notched two saves for Southwestern Oklahoma State.