LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Bellarmine University men's soccer team suffered its first shutout of the season. The Knights did not, however, suffer their first loss.
On a rainy, cold and damp Saturday evening at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium, 12th-ranked and second-seeded Bellarmine advanced to the Super Region 3 semifinals of the NCAA Tournament after defeating seventh-seeded Cedarville 4-3 in a penalty kick shootout.
Since Indianapolis defeated top-seeded Lake Erie 2-0 in the quarterfinals, Bellarmine (16-0-5) will be the host of the Super Region 3 semifinals and finals because the Knights are the highest-seeded team to advance.
The match between Bellarmine and Cedarville (12-3-8) officially is recorded as a tie. It was the first NCAA Tournament game in program history for the Knights, who pushed their unbeaten streak to 30 dating back to last season.
While Bellarmine dominated the shot count, the match nonetheless went into a penalty kick shootout after neither team scored in regulation and two overtimes. It was the first time all season the Knights failed to find the net at least once.
That would change in the penalty kick shootout, where Bellarmine shot first in the best-of-five contest. Senior forward
Tomas Bernedo, junior midfielder
Micah Linscott, junior midfielder
Jonathan Huerta and junior defender
Drew Goetz made the Knights' first four attempts.
Bellarmine held a 4-3 lead after four kicks, as Cedarville missed its third attempt. The Knights were unable to clinch the shootout after missing their fifth attempt. However, Bellarmine sealed its advancement when the shot of Cedarville's Nick Marculo sailed high and over the crossbar, setting off a raucous celebration as the Knights mobbed sophomore goalkeeper
Connor Range.
Cedarville played a decidedly defensive-minded game, and Bellarmine couldn't quite crack the disciplined and organized Yellow Jackets, although there was a controversial offsides call late in the first half that negated a Linscott goal off a corner kick. Linscott was painfully unlucky — he also had a header carom off the post.
Bellarmine finished with massive advantages in shots (22-4), shots on goal (9-2) and corner kicks (13-1).
Bellarmine will meet the winner of Sunday's match between third-seeded Maryville and sixth-seeded Tiffin. According to the NCAA's website, all Super Regional semifinal matches are scheduled for Dec. 5 or 6. Details of Bellarmine's match will be publicized when they are finalized.
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