ST. LOUIS – The Maryville men's soccer team will play in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Semifinals after tying with Missouri S&T and advancing 4-3 in penalty kicks on Sunday. The Saints allowed two first-half goals before storming back in the final 20 minutes of regulation to force a 2-2 draw.
 
After allowing two quick goals to the Saints in their last meeting on Oct. 16, it was the Miners who struck fast on Sunday with a goal at 14:15 from Robert Suellentrop. Jason Jorgensen doubled the lead at 22:57 to give Missouri S&T a 2-0 advantage heading into halftime.
 
Maryville began to build offensive momentum early in the second on a shot attempt from Jimmy Doherty and a shot on goal from Mason Crew. They continued to press and outshoot the Miners before getting a penalty kick opportunity in the 72nd minute.
 
Cedric Sengl ripped the PK opportunity on goal but was denied by Miner goalkeeper Davis Joseph diving to his left. Joseph, however, could not subdue the loose ball allowing Tim Smith to get the rebound and score to cut the lead to 2-1.
 
The Saints continued momentum through the rest of the half but were unable to get the equalizer as the clock trickled down to under a minute remaining. That is until they threw the ball up to Mirza Hasecic who carried the ball into the box and found Sengl in the middle for the game-tying goal at 89:30.
 
Neither team got any shots off in overtime to send the quarterfinal matchup to a shootout. Goalkeeper Albert Escuin made a save on the first attempt while Sengl and Hasecic both converted their opportunities to go up 2-0. The Miners responded with three in a row, but Victor DeGiorgio and Eyob Tadesse finished off the shootout with goals to move their team past the Miners 4-3 in PKs.
 
"The first half was disappointing the way we played," said Head Men's Soccer Coach David Korn. "I thought the second half our guys responded really well. To score a goal with 30 seconds left to show how much belief they have to not give up. And then to be in a situation in penalty kicks to show the composure they did. Just really proud of them, you know, and now we have to continue to grow from this."
 
As the top remaining seed in the GLVC Championship Tournament, Maryville will now play host to the remainder of the bracket starting with the GLVC Semifinals on Friday, Nov. 4.