BROOKINGS, S.D. – The Western Illinois women's soccer team played Oakland to a 1-1 draw before advancing on penalty kicks in The Summit League Championship semifinal at Fishback Soccer Park on Friday, Nov. 5.

The Fighting Leathernecks (10-5-5, 6-2-1 Summit) fell behind early, but battled back to find the equalizer before the match moved to a penalty shootout after two scoreless overtime periods.

The Golden Grizzlies (12-5-3, 8-0-1) entered the match as the top seed and took the lead with a goal off a free kick in the 33rd minute. Dani Haelewyn scored her eighth goal of the year when she ripped a shot past the Western Illinois wall and into the bottom left corner of the net.

Western Illinois would respond quickly to tie the match at 1-1 in the 39th minute. Nora Potempa gathered a loose ball and fired a shot from the top left of the box and past Oakland goalkeeper Payj O'Shea for the equalizer.

"I just found myself in the right place at the right time," Potempa said. "The ball fell to my feet and I just hit it as hard as I could to try and get it past all the defenders in front of me."

Both teams would find solid chances the remainder of the way, though neither could capitalize on a scoring chance as the match moved through two overtime periods.

With 110 minutes of play complete, the match moved to a penalty shootout per postseason rules and the Leathernecks were given the opportunity to kick first.

"Everyone was pretty calm for the most part," said senior captain Caitlin Barrett. "It's obviously a little nerve-wracking but as captains our job was to reassure everyone that no matter what the outcome, we're still a team; we win as a team and we lose as a team."

Ali Smyth gave Western a 1-0 edge by converting the first penalty kick, but the Golden Grizzlies would match when Nicole DeLuca scored on Oakland's first attempt.

"I've taken penalty kicks my entire life, so I felt pretty calm when I stepped up there," Smyth said. "There's a bit more pressure when you're the first one to go but each kick is just as important as the next."

Both teams would make their second and third attempts before O'Shea made a stop on Kellie Julius' attempt to give Oakland what looked to be the advantage. With the chance to take a 4-3 edge in penalty kicks, Oakland's Meghan Hartwig missed high to keep penalties even at 3-3.

Kelly Diershow had the chance to give the Leathernecks an edge in the shootout, but O'Shay made another diving stop to her right to once again give Oakland the edge. With the outcome of the match on the line, Oakland's Meghan Reynolds stepped to the penalty spot, but Western Illinois goalkeeper Laura Atkinson made a diving save to her left to keep Western's season alive.

"I just had a feeling that I knew which way she was going to go," Atkinson said. "Our coaches did a great job of preparing us in practice all week for this moment and we were able to pull out a win."

Caitlin Barrett converted her attempt to put Western up 4-3 before Oakland matched with their next attempt to make it 4-4. Laura Lins hit the next shot hard to the right side and O'Shea was able to get a hand on it, but the ball deflected into the right side-netting for a 5-4 Leatherneck lead.

"It was the greatest feeling I've ever had," Lins said. "Converting that shot was really a once in a liftime thing and to be able to lift the team like that was amazing."

Oakland's Amy Trandell missed wide left on the next shot and the Leathernecks advanced to The Summit League Championship in dramatic fashion.

The victory marked the first time in Leatherneck history that Western Illinois advanced on penalty kicks. The team had previously lost 4-3 in its only other penalty shootout against Oakland in the 2006 league tournament.

"For us to get this win means so much," Green said. "As a senior, my career could have ended in a split-second, but now we have the chance to go on and do something no other team in our history has ever done."

Western Illinois finished the match with 11 shots, including seven on target. Diershow led Western Illinois with five shots while putting two on frame. Jenny Green and Julius each recorded two shots and Atkinson made five saves.