EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – #7 Southeast Missouri women's soccer (7-5-6) defeated #3 SIUE (5-6-6) in the Quarterfinals of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament on Sunday, Oct. 29, in a thrilling match that needed a penalty shootout to determine the winner. 
 
SEMO won 5-4 in penalty kicks, capped off by a winning penalty shot by defender Emma Tucker to put the Redhawks in the tournament's semifinal round. 
 
Trailing for 87 minutes, SEMO found the equalizer in the 88^th minute off the foot of defender Alayna Jakul. 
 
Sophomore forward Cayla Koerner won the ball back in SEMO's attacking third in a cold, rainy match to setup the game-tying goal. Koerner slid the ball to Jakul who was cutting towards the net, as she slotted the ball past SIUE goalkeeper Taylor Spiller to tie the match at a goal apiece.
 
SEMO finished the full 110-minute match with nine shots, including six on-target. Koerner and Jakul led the Redhawks with two shots, both on target. Faith Liljegren, Emma Brune, Justi Nelson, Natalie Jackson, and Megan Heisserer all registered a shot in the match. 
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Sophia Elfrink played the entire 110-minute match, registering two saves in the contest as SIUE finished with 10 shots, with just three on target. 
 
Neither team was able to get much going in the match's overtime period as the game went to penalty kicks. 
 
SIUE's Macie Begley started the penalty shootout and was denied by Elfrink to start the shootout in SEMO's favor. 
 
Zoe Houston got the Redhawks on the board first with a perfect ball into the bottom of the net, beating Spiller, to give SEMO a 1-0 advantage.
 
SIUE would tie it on their next attempt, bringing in Cayla Koerner for the second SEMO attempt. Koerner's attempt sailed just wide and high. 
 
The next three attempts would go back-and-forth as SIUE took a 3-2 advantage with a chance to win the match with the next kick. SIUE's Sidney Christopher missed it wide to the left to give SEMO another chance. 
 
Natalie Jackson stepped to the spot and calmly scored in the bottom right of the net to tie it. 
 
Sophia Elfrink made her final save on SIUE's Kaitlyn Nichols bringing in Emma Tucker, who had not registered a minute of game time in the match. 
 
Tucker slotted it into the bottom left of the net to give SEMO the 5-4 victory in penalty kicks and advanced to the next round. 
 
SEMO will play in the Ohio Valley Conference Semifinal round on Thursday, Nov. 2, when they take on Morehead State in Cookeville, Tenn. The match is slated to begin at 7 P.M., CT.