Romeoville, Ill. - Lewis University men's soccer coach Evan Fiffles knew that his squad was in for a battle against Bellarmine, as the Flyers and Knights went to overtime earlier this season, with Fiffles' troops earning the 1-0 victory.
The postseason, however, gives every team an opportunity for a championship as both teams squared off with one another in the Great Lakes Valley Quarterfinals on Sunday afternoon.
Bellarmine took advantage, as the Knights battled the No. 2 seeded and 17th ranked Flyers to a 1-1 tie after two overtimes and moved on to the GLVC Semifinals next weekend with a 10-9 victory in the shootout.
The Knights (9-6-4) will face off with No. 3 seeded Northern Kentucky next Friday, while the Flyers (14-1-2) will wait for the 2008 NCAA Division II pairings to be announced.
"We knew that Bellarmine was going to be a tough matchup for us, right off the bat," Lewis University head men's soccer coach Evan Fiffles said. "They outplayed us and I just thought they were the better team today."
Bellarmine got on the board first at the 22:05 mark, as sophomore Brad Barraclough, pounded home a rocket from about 20 yards out, giving the Knights a 1-0 advantage.
Lewis junior forward Nestor Hernandez (Berwyn, Ill./Morton West) provided the equalizer for the Flyers with 6:25 left in regulation, as he headed in his own rebound past Bellarmine goaltender Justin Welply for his team-best 11th goal, to force the game into overtime.
Neither team could find the back of the net in the ensuing two extra periods, sending the contest into a shootout. Each team split their first two attempts, before both teams matched each other shot-for-shot for the next eight rounds.
Lewis senior midfielder Cory Mastey (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew), who missed his first attempt, was unable to convert his second try, as Welply stoned him. Bellarmine senior midfielder Kieran Potterton followed with a score past Lewis goaltender Anthony Szymel (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North), securing a berth in the GLVC semifinals for the Knights.
A Catholic University sponsored by the De La Salle Christian Brothers, Lewis offers nearly 80 undergraduate majors and programs of study, accelerated degree completion options for working adults, various aviation programs and 22 graduate programs in nine fields. The mid-sized university is being honored for the fifth consecutive year by The Princeton Review and U.S. News & World Report. For more information please visit www.lewisu.edu.
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