BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The Carthage College men's soccer team overcame a pair of missed penalty kicks in regulation but scored in overtime to advance past the Illinois Wesleyan University Titans on Tuesday night, 2-1.
 
The win moves the Red Men to 13-6-2 on the year and advances them into the CCIW Tournament Final on Saturday, while the Titans' season comes to an end at 11-6-1.
 
"It's tough to beat a great team twice in essentially a week at their place," said head coach Steve Domin.  "IWU has really made some strides and you can see why they are ranked so high in the region.  We gifted them a goal just like we did in the first game with a couple minutes before half.  The only difference is we were up two goals last match with a cushion.  With this game having a lot more on the line it was an unsettling feeling for a few minutes.  Like so many times in our history we simply stayed the course and played our game."
 
Carthage had a number of chances in the opening half, but opportunities Danny Eloyza, Ivan Esquivel and Kevin Penarrieta were all denied by Illinois Wesleyan goalkeeper, Alex Ruckstaetter.
 
Blake Tempel broke the scoreless tie right before the halftime break, as the Titans used a throw in to set up the first goal, as Tempel his the post and the ball trickled in for the 1-0 lead in the 43^rd minute.
 
"I will say, IWU has an interesting way of crediting shots.  They really only have serves to the box which seem to get credited as shots.  They do a nice job at it too, back third to front third.  We are a team that really keeps the ball, which negates that."
 
The Red Men had their first chance to tie the match in the 61^st minute after Penarrieta was taken down in the penalty box, but Adrian Herrera struck the crossbar with his PK and the Red Men remained down 1-0.
 
Moments later, a failed Titans' clearance led to the Red Men's first goal as Kevin Penarrieta snuck a shot under the Titan back line and past Alex Ruckstaetter to tie the game at 1-1 in the 66^th minute.
 
The Red Men had a second chance of converting from the PK spot in the 74^th minute after Ivan Esquivel was hacked down, but Ruckstaetter made a diving save to keep the game tied at 1-1.
 
"It was an exciting game, but it could have been a bit of a blow out had we converted two penalty kicks.  Their keeper really stymied those to keep it fun."
 
The intensity turned up for the Red Men despite the pair of penalty misses as possession after possession looked as though it would give Carthage the go-ahead goal but each Freddy Martinez cross and Ivan Esquivel run was turned away at the last minute by a desperate Titans back line to force overtime tied at 1-1.
 
After constant pressure in the Illinois Wesleyan final third, the Red Men finally broke the tie when Luke Schoffstall lifted a through-ball from Freddy Martinez past a stunned Ruckstaetter for the Red Men win in the 97^th minute golden goal for the 2-1 victory.
 
The Red Men will now wait to learn their next opponent, as #1 North Park hosts #4 North Central, Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.  A North Park win would meant he tournament championship will be played at North Park on Saturday, but a North Central win would give the Red Men the right to host the championship.