SALISBURY, N.C. - The third-seeded Flagler College women's soccer team advanced to the NCAA Southeast Regional Championship after the Saints tied second-seeded Catawba College, 1-1, Saturday evening and edged the host in a penalty kick shootout, 5-4. 
 
"Today's performance was nothing short of heroic, and this game will be remembered for a long time," said head coach Ashley Martin.
 
Catawba (16-3-2) got on the board first, taking an early 1-0 lead with a goal by Hannah Dunn. In the 16th minute, Dunn sent in a corner kick from the left corner that curved into the goal.
 
Flagler (14-3-2) answered back in the 17th minute to tie the game 1-1. Andrea Fernandez netted her 20th goal of the season on a penalty kick after fading to the right and sending the ball into the bottom left corner of the net. 
 
With 25 minutes remaining in the second half, Flagler's Emery Biggs received a red card and had to play woman-down for the rest of the match. Both teams could not finish their shots in the second half, forcing the game into overtime. After 20 extra minutes of play, the teams went into the penalty kick shootout. Catawba took 13 shots in the final 65 minutes, while the Saints took six shots. 
 
"Whilst the game was 11v11, both teams created chances, but after the red card was issued to Emery, our team was forced to defend and hit Catawba on the counterattack," added Martin. "Not only did the players stick to their tasks, but they excelled, and showed how they refused to be beaten."
 
Catawba made its first two shots in the shootout while Andrea Fernandez and Chloe Byrne made the first two shots for the Saints to knot it at 2-2. Catawba went up 4-2in penalty kicks, but a shot from Liz Hall shrunk Catawba's lead to 4-3. Sara Carr and Elke Fernandez sealed the final two shots for Flagler while Catawba missed its final two shots to give Flagler the 5-4 advantage, propelling them to the next round of the national tournament. 
 
"The shootout was insane, and we again showed our resiliency, especially after Catawba were forced to retake their fifth shot," Martin said. "Madison North had a monumental performance which was capped off during the shootout."
 
Catawba had an 18-12 advantage in shots and dominated in corner kicks, 13-3. Flagler had a 7-6 edge in shots on goal. Keeper Madison North had five saves, four of which came in the final 65 minutes of the match while also making two stops in the shootout.
 
The Saints advance to the Southeast Regional Championship where they will take on the winner of first-seeded Columbus State University and fifth-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne University. The next round's date, time and place are yet to be determined.

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