Conway, Ark. - Ninety minutes was not enough to separate Hendrix and Oglethorpe on Saturday afternoon in their Southern Athletic Association (SAA) quarterfinal matchup.
Neither was an additional 20 minutes of extra time.
But on a wet and windy day in Conway, when Warrior Soccer Field more resembled a marsh than an actual field, the Warriors dug deep and found a way to keep their postseason run going, defeating the Stormy Petrels on penalties to set up a reunion with the SAA regular season champion Sewanee Tigers next Friday.
It was borderline impossible to string together passes and generate chances on goal with standing water all over the field, but Hendrix came close on several occasions, although
Madison Lampkin was unfortunate twice to dribble into a literal lake in front of goal.
Caton Nelson was never threatened in 110 minutes of open play, but was called into action during the penalty shootout and came up big. After Hendrix missed on its first two spot kicks, Nelson saved the Stormy Petrels third attempt.
Sierra Dobson and
Grace Sandoval converted from the spot to even up the shootout at 2-2.
After an Oglethorpe miss on their sixth attempt, Anna Eichenberger stepped up to the spot with a chance to send the Warriors on to the semifinals, and did so with aplomb, slotting the ball home cool-as-you-like into the bottom right corner.
Saturday marked Hendrix's first playoff win since 2018 when they defeated Sewanee 4-1, and they will now head to Sewanee, Tennessee looking to recreate that same magic and secure a berth to the SAA Championship match.
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