Box Score
SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- The Notre Dame College women's soccer team defeated the visiting West Liberty Hilltoppers in the Mountain East Conference Semifinals on Wednesday afternoon at Mueller Field. The Falcons and Hilltoppers were tied at 2-2 through two overtime periods, leading to penalty kicks where the Falcons won the game 4-3 in PKs.

The Falcons fell behind early as the Hilltoppers scored a 15th minute goal to take the early 1-0 lead over NDC. The deficit increased to 2-0 in the 34th minute as WLU's Emily Evans scored the second goal of the game, leaving the Falcons in a 2-0 hole going into the halftime break.

The second half, however, proved to be a much different story for the Falcons.

After a scoreless first half, the NDC offensive attack came to life in the second half. While the Falcons dominated ball possession throughout the match, it wasn't until the second half that they were able to convert scoring opportunities into goals.

After scoring a hat trick in the Falcons final game of the regular season, it was Katarina Doncevic who stepped up and scored the Falcons' first goal against West Liberty. The sophomore defender scored a 77th minute goal from five yards out on a breakaway, assisted by Alexis Manoa, to cut WLU's lead to just 2-1.

Trailing by just one goal with less than 15 minutes remaining in regulation, the Falcons' offensive attack pushed for the late, equalizing goal.

With time ticking away and the regulation clock under five minutes remaining, it was Maranda Melton who scored the game-tying goal for the Falcons. Melton intercepted a pass and found free space in the box, scoring the equalizing goal in the 86th minute to tie the score at 2-2. The goal by Melton was assisted by Manoa, who recorded her second assist of the game.

Melton's game-tying goal eventually forced overtime, where both sides battled for the game-winning goal that would advance them to the MEC Championship on Sunday afternoon.

The first overtime period proved to be a defensive gridlock as neither side was able to score in the period, forcing a second overtime frame. The second overtime also ended without any goals scored, and after 110 minutes of action both teams headed to penalty kicks with the score tied at 2-2.

In the best-of-five penalty kicks, the Hilltoppers missed their first kick while NDC's Katarina Doncevic made her first PK, giving NDC the early advantage. The Hilltoppers followed with a make of their own, but Alexis Manoa converted her PK attempt to put NDC ahead 2-1 through two kicks.

West Liberty then missed its third attempt, but the Falcons also missed their third attempt, leaving the PK score at 2-1. In need of a score on their fourth shot to keep their winning hopes alive, the Hilltoppers converted on their fourth attempt to tie it at 2-2.

However, NDC's fourth PK by Megan O'Connor was also good, giving NDC a 3-2 lead going into the fifth and final PK. In the fifth and final penalty kick, the Hilltoppers scored to tie PKs at 3-3. 

With the Falcons tied at 3-3 in PKs and one last shot remaining in the penalty kick period, Maranda Melton again stepped up for the Falcons. After scoring the game-tying goal in the 86th minute, Melton converted the game-winning penalty kick to give the Falcons a 4-3 advantage in PKs, equating to a 3-2 final score win over the Hilltoppers in the MEC Tournament Semifinals.

With the win, the Falcons advance to the MEC Tournament Championship game on Sunday, Nov. 6 at home against the winner of No. 2 Charleston and No. 3 West Virginia Wesleyan. Game time on Sunday is TBD.