Foley, Ala. – The No. 8 Central Methodist women's soccer team punched its ticket to the quarterfinals of the NAIA National Championship Tuesday afternoon, winning a thrilling penalty kick shoot out over No. 9 seeded John Brown University in the first round in Foley, Ala.
With the win, Central advances to the quarterfinals where they will square off against No. 1 William Carey (Miss.). Thursday's national tournament quarterfinals appearance marks the deepest postseason run of any CMU women's soccer team in program history.
CMU entered the first half with good pace and controlled possession early on. The Eagles had three scoring opportunities but weren't able to put the ball in the back of the net. However, Central's defense held the Golden Eagles to only one shot in the first 45 minutes of play.
The second half started with the Eagles jumping on the scoresheet first. Three minutes into the second half, Anika Kallash found Andrea Villar between the JBU defense. The senior took a touch and fired a shot past the keeper for the score. John Brown was not shaken by the goal and answered with a score of their own on a corner kick in the 55th minute. Both teams kept a high pace through the rest of the half but ended regulation tied at 1-1. John Brown finished the second period with nine shots against three for CMU.
The match then went to double overtime where neither team was able to find the back of the net for the golden goal. CMU outshot JBU 3-0 in the first 10 minutes of overtime, and in the final 10 minutes, JBU outshot Central 4-0.
With the match tied at 1-1, the winner was to be decided on penalty kicks.
Nely Martinez started the shootout converting her PK attempt and John Brown followed suit, matching Central at 1-1. Elly Boothe gave CMU a 2-1 lead and sophomore goalkeeper Sheila Sanchez saved the John Brown attempt to keep the Eagles out in front. Villar scored the third PK for Central and JBU also converted. CMU missed their fourth PK but the Golden Eagles sent one over the crossbar to keep Central out in front 3-2. Maria Cervello took the fifth and final PK, slipping the ball in the upper left corner of the net, solidifying the 4-2 shootout victory for Central.
Senior Anika Kallash led the team with three shots and one assist. Sandra Jakobsen and Villar finished with two shots each, and Jakobsen added one assist. Kitti Torok and Zoe Jessen each recorded one shot.
The Eagles will next face No. 1 seed William Carey in the quarterfinals Thursday, April 29 at 1:00 p.m. in Foley, Ala.
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