CHARLESTON, W.Va. – On Wednesday night, for only the second time this season, No. 1 University of Charleston did not have the lead when the clock struck zero. Notre Dame College and UC played 110 minutes and then determined the winner of the scoreless tie with penalty kicks, where Charleston would win 5-4 and advance to the Mountain East Conference Tournament final match.

The Falcons (11-6-1, 8-4-1 MEC) battled hard in the MEC tournament semifinal game, and played defensively for the most part in the first half. NDC only took two shots and one shot on goal in the first 45 minutes.

Charleston (16-0-2, 11-0-2) did not attack much in the first half either, taking only three shots.

In the second half, the two teams came out looking to score, but neither defense would give any room.

UC, who will now play West Virginia Wesleyan College on Sunday, had a few good chances in the 48th minute as Will Roberts had a shot saved by sophomore Daniele De Angelis and a few seconds later, David Achaerandio shot the ball wide of the mark.

In the 80th minute, Falcons senior Leonardo Paiva took a shot from just outside the penalty box that was too high. Another senior, Reymar Klochko, had a header that was saved by Paulo Pita in the 86th minute.

An incredible save by De Angelis came in the 88th minute when a foul was called on Notre Dame in the box. Will Roberts, the 2017 MEC Offensive Player of the Year, set up and then took his penalty kick but De Angelis guessed correctly and saved the shot, diving to his right.

The teams were still scoreless in the first overtime period, and the only shots taken were by Charleston as Roberts' shot went wide and Armando Tikvic's shot was high.

Both teams were exhausted by the start of the second overtime period as multiple players were standing with their hands on their knees. NDC and UC each took just one shot in the ten minutes of action. After 110 minutes of action, the game would be decided by penalty kicks.

Junior Reece Daly and sophomore Paolo Termine both converted on their kicks for NDC while Thomas Vancaeyezeele and Robin Lapert both made their kicks for UC.

Tied at two, sophomore Guilherme Gloria Albuquerque took a shot that was knocked off course by Pita and then hit the post.

Following the miss, each team hit their next two PK's before Roberts had his second penalty kick of the game saved by De Angelis. The next kick came from sophomore Lewis Norvock, with a chance to tie it at five.

Norvock would miss his kick and then Gabriel Cabral snuck a ball into the goal to win the hard fought contest.

Head coach Carl Nolan said his team followed the gameplan and left everything on the field.

"The players were asked to give everything that they had physically tonight," he mentioned. "If they did that their technical ability would shine through. They gave everything that we asked for, and we are proud of the way that they played."

The Falcons, who were the fourth seed in the MEC tournament, are currently in fifth place in the most recent regional poll. NDC will now have to wait and see if a team drops out of the top four, which would allow them to get into the NCAA Tournament.

The top seeded University of Charleston will look to win their fifth straight MEC tournament title on Sunday when play the No. 2 seed WVWC.