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IUP Edges East Stroudsburg in Penalty Kick Shootout to Advance to PSAC Championship Game

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April Hunsberger's save in the ninth penalty kick round helped IUP advance to the PSAC final

April Hunsberger's save in the ninth penalty kick round helped IUP advance to the PSAC final

Nov. 7, 2008

Stats

April Hunsberger stopped a penalty kick by Jessica Youmans in the ninth round of a shootout, and Allison Keller followed with the game winner as IUP advanced to the championship game of the PSAC women's soccer tournament with a victory over East Stroudsburg Friday in Erie.

The 90 minutes of regulation and two 10-minute overtime periods ended in a 1-1 tie. Both teams then converted all five of their penalty kicks to send the shootout into sudden death. The Crimson Hawks and Warriors made their first three sudden death kicks before the heroics of Hunsberger and Keller.

The game is officially listed as a 1-1 tie, making IUP 13-8-1 on the season while East Stroudsburg, ranked 24th in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association poll, dropped to 11-5-4. The Crimson Hawks will take on host Mercyhurst in the PSAC title game Saturday at noon with an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament on the line.

Mercyhurst defeated two-time defending PSAC champion West Chester 2-1 in Friday's second semifinal.

IUP took a 1-0 lead with 2:37 remaining in the first half when Kyra Hricik scored her first goal of the season, assisted by Paige Virgara. The Warrior posted the equalizer just over 13 minutes into the second half on a goal by Lindsay Foder, with the assist going to Lynda Hicks.

It stayed tied through the next 52 minutes despite numerous scoring opportunities for both teams. Prior to the penalty kick tiebreaker, the Crimson Hawks had 23 shots, one more than East Stroudsburg. Kelly Brennan made eight saves in the 110 minutes of playing time before Hunsberger took over for the shootout. Janine Turcio had 10 saves for East Stroudsburg.

IUP will be seeking its third PSAC championship in the 15-year history of the program, having previously won the conference crown in 1995 and 2004.

IUP and Mercyhurst played twice this season, with both teams winning at home. On September 13 in Indiana, the Crimson Hawks defeated the Lakers 2-1 for the first win in nine all-time series meetings. Mercyhurst returned the favor with a 4-2 victory on October 25 in Erie.