EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. – Tied 2-2 after 90 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of overtime, the East Stroudsburg University men's soccer team advanced to the PSAC Semifinals after winning a thrilling penalty kick shootout against West Chester, 4-3, on Tuesday evening inside Eiler-Martin Stadium.

The Warriors (8-8-3), the PSAC East two-seed will now face PSAC West first-seed Mercyhurst on Friday at 5:30 p.m. at Bloomsburg's Steph Pettit Stadium. West Chester (10-5-3) will wait its postseason fate with the NCAA Division II Selection Show on Mon., Nov. 7 at 6:30 p.m.

In the penalty kick shootout, ESU missed its first opportunity, as West Chester made three consecutive attempts, before missing its fourth attempt. ESU's Hubert Herrera and Ignasi Cucurella put pressure on West Chester by converting ESU's fourth and fifth PK attempt. WCU's leading scorer Frankie Taylor saw his shot saved by ESU freshman goalkeeper Helgi Hermannsson to propel the Warriors to the PSAC East Semifinals.  

Notables

• Recording goals for the Warriors in regulation were Trevor Paone and Abdulla Nuredini. Nuredini also tallied an assist on Paone's goal.
• For WCU, Frankie Taylor and Owen Slack registered goals.
• Both goalkeepers played well and made important saves throughout the contest, with Hermannsson finishing with four saves, while Daniel Good posted nine saves in the draw.
• West Chester led 23-19 in shots, while the Warriors led 11-6 on shots on goal.
• The chippy contest featured six cards, with WCU's Alex Aiken issued a red card. West Chester had 10 players on the field for the final three minutes of regulation and the two 10-minute overtime periods.

How It Happened

• 7' | Off a free kick, Nuredini was able to settle possession after a scrum, before flicking a pass to Trevor Paone. Paone sent a shot into traffic that found the back of the net.
• 7' | West Chester answered quickly. After a cross, West Chester's Frankie Taylor was able to get a foot on a shot right in front of the net, finding the net.
• 30' | The Warriors retook the lead, with Abdulla Nuredini drilling a long distance shot from 30-yards out, with an assist from Nick Amado.
• 67' | Slack sent a missile of a free kick from long distance that ricocheted off the cross bar and into the net.

Penalty Kick Shootout

• Round 1
  • ESU – Pieter Neerhoff missed
  • WCU – Gio Jimenez made
• Round 2
  • ESU – Quinn Murphy made
  • WCU – Andrew Markopoulos made
• Round 3
  • ESU – Cayetano Diaz made
  • WCU –  Craig Potts made
• Round 4
  • ESU – Hubert Herrera made
  • WCU – Jason Goldfeder missed
• Round 5
  • ESU – Ignasi Cucurella made
  • WCU – Frankie Taylor missed

Up Next

• ESU advances to the PSAC Semifinals against Mercyhurst, which will be played on campus of Bloomsburg at Steph Pettit Stadium on Friday at 5:30 p.m.
• The winner of the PSAC East second-seed ESU and PSAC West first seed Mercyhurst advances to the PSAC Championship game. ESU or Mercyhurst will battle the winner PSAC East first Seed Bloomsburg and PSAC West second seed Gannon for the PSAC title on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

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