SAN MARCOS, Texas — Goalkeeper Melissa Drish stopped the final attempt of a penalty shootout as second-seeded South Alabama soccer beat sixth-seeded Arkansas State in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament semifinals, sending the Jaguars to Sunday’s championship match.
South Alabama will face top-seeded Western Kentucky, which beat fourth-seeded host Texas State 1-0 in the other semifinal.
Early Goals
Arkansas State opened the scoring in the eighth minute. Samhia Simoa took a pass from Ashley Jackson off a free kick inside the 6-yard box and beat Drish to give the Red Wolves a 1-0 lead.
South Alabama answered in the 21st minute. A Jaguars shot deflected off Arkansas State goalkeeper Amanda Lee, and Lauren Allison collected the rebound and put it in to tie the match.
Scoreless Overtime
Neither team scored the rest of regulation, and neither generated much of an attack in two overtime periods, leaving the match tied 1-1 and sending it to a shootout.
Shootout
Both teams converted 4 of their first 5 attempts. Jordan Duncan scored on South Alabama’s next try to put the Jaguars ahead, and Arkansas State senior Alex Furr answered by beating Drish to keep the shootout going.
Shawn Meach then placed her kick just out of Lee’s reach to give South Alabama the lead again, and Drish stopped Jenna Duerst’s attempt to clinch the win.
Championship Match Sunday
South Alabama and Western Kentucky meet for the Sun Belt title at 1 p.m. Central on Sunday. The match will be televised on the Sun Belt Network.
South Alabama opened the tournament with a 2-0 win over Georgia State, its first postseason victory since 2005.
