Dragons fall on penalty shots in 2nd round of NCAA regional

Tiffin University fell to Illinois-Springfield on penalty shots in the second round of the NCAA regional.
Tiffin University fell to Illinois-Springfield on penalty shots in the second round of the NCAA regional.

Tiffin University (10-4-4) saw its 2022 season come to an end in dramatic fashion, falling on penalty shots to Illinois-Springfield in the second round of the NCAA Super Region 3 tournament.

The Dragons opened in lightning fashion, scoring in the 3rd minute when George McCarthy knocked home a cross from Malvin Gblah to make it 1-0.

TU's defense made that goal stand up until the 57th minute, when UIS equalized on a shot that slipped past Declan Lehmann.

Things took a dramatic turn in the 67th minute when Gblah received his second yellow card, giving the Prairie Stars a man advantage for the remainder of the contest. 

UIS exploited the advantage for a 6-2 shot edge in the second half, but Tiffin's defense would not break. Lehmann made 4 saves over his 110 minutes, as the game progressed through both overtime periods still tied 1-1.

The game went to penalty shots with UIS shooting first. They took an early edge when Browel Some's shot escaped TU goalkeeper Matheus Donin's grasp and trickled over the line. TU's Davide Frezzi's shot went off the post after one round.

Both teams hit all their penalty shots for the next three rounds, with Thierry van den Bergh, Tobias Rawson Paz, and Juan Rosique Alvarez all connecting on their shots.

The Prairie Stars' Terence Bynoe ended the game when he connected on UIS's fifth and final penalty kick.