Mankato, Minn. --- After playing to a 1-1 draw with eighth-seeded Minnesota Duluth through regulation and two overtime periods of a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament quarterfinal match on Wednesday afternoon at The Pitch, top-seeded and No. 21-ranked Minnesota State soccer won the shootout 8-7 in nine rounds to advance to the semifinal round of the NSIC Tournament.  
 
In a first half that did not see a lot of offense from either team, Minnesota Duluth (10-5-4) scored the only goal in the 33rd minute to take a 1-0 lead into halftime. The goal was scored by Hailey Hoff and assisted by Lizzy Fontes and Anna Morrison. The Bulldogs held a 4-3 edge in shots after one half of play.
 
The Mavericks (15-2-2) came out of the locker room with more energy in the second half and it showed through increased offensive pressure. Minnesota State outshot Minnesota Duluth 18-2 in the second half and tied the game on a goal by freshman forward Molly Sarafolean in the 69th minute. Sarafolean's fifth goal of the season was assisted by sophomore forward Taylor Kenealy.  
 
However, the Mavericks were unable to score again and the game headed to overtime, where both teams had chances, but Minnesota State's junior goalkeeper Taylor Livermore (8-1-1) and Minnesota Duluth's Sisley Ng (9-5-2) both made clutch saves that kept the game scoreless and forced the shootout. Livermore made seven saves in the match and Ng made 11 stops. 
 
Sophomore Ryann Rydeen was put in goal for Minnesota State in the shootout. Each team failed to convert on one attempt through the first eight rounds as the shootout went to the ninth round tied at 7-7. In the final round, junior defender Abby Hausken converted for the Mavericks and Rydeen stopped the final attempt by the Bulldogs to secure the 8-7 shootout win for the Mavericks.
 
Minnesota State held a 29-12 edge in shots, including a 12-8 advantage in shots on goal.
 
The Mavericks played the final 20 minutes of the match with 10 players after a Minnesota State player was given a red card in the 90th minute.  
 
Minnesota State will host the semifinal and final rounds of the NSIC Soccer Tournament on Friday and Sunday at the Pitch. The Mavericks will face the winner of fourth-seeded Minot State and fifth-seeded U-Mary in a semifinal match on Friday at 2:00 p.m. The winner of Friday's semifinal match will advance to the championship match to face the winner of the semifinal match between second-seeded Bemidji State and third-seeded Augustana on Sunday at 2:00 p.m.