CONWAY, Ark. -- The fourth-seeded University of the Incarnate Word women's soccer team battled fifth-seeded Texas A&M-Corpus Christi through two overtimes after regulation ended in a 2-2 draw, but ultimately the Cardinals were edged out in penalty kicks in Wednesday's quarterfinal match at the 2019 Southland Conference Tournament.
A first-half half Islander goal gave TAMUCC a 1-0 lead heading into the locker room at the half. UIW got off six shots, with three on goal, but the Cardinals didn't find the back of the net.
The Cardinals came back hard in the second half and dominated possession with 12 shots. On the night, UIW outshot TAMUCC 27-10.
First team all-conference defender
Ana Campa was in clutch mode on the match, overtaking possession from TAMUCC's chances and turning them into offensive drives down the pitch.
TAMUCC found the net in 48th to stretch their lead 2-0.
Andrea Reyes took matters into her own hands and split the Islanders lead in half with ten minutes left in regulation. She scored off a cross from
Jade Piper to leave TAMUCC clinging to a 2-1 lead. Reyes kept the game alive on multiple accounts on Wednesday night; in addition to her goal, she kept the team alive when she blocked an Islander shot in the second half.
Seven minutes later, Piper scored the equalizer. The Islander goalkeeper had a save, but Piper stuck with the attack and put the ball on the right post to bring the score to 2-2. Regulation time ended with a tied score to lead into overtime play.
The first OT was a tough-fought one for the Cardinals as there were multiple close opportunities to find the net (seven shots, five on frame) that just missed the mark or were saved by the Islanders' keeper. Ten minutes passed with no score to lead into another overtime period.
UIW's defense held the Islanders to zero shots in the second overtime, but two Cardinal shots in the box were not enough, leading the match to a penalty kick shootout.
The penalty kick shootout began with a clutch stop from Croson to set the tone, igniting
Hannah Walsh and
Ana Campa to score on their PK attempts. The Islanders ultimately won the PK battle, 4-2, to secure UIW's heartbreaker loss.
Tonight's loss in the quarterfinals ends the Cardinals' road at the Southland Conference Tournament. UIW came from being predicted to finish at the bottom of the SLC to earning the program's first postseason berth.
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