ROCK HILL, S.C. -- The third-seeded Railsplitters (10-3-3) battled the second-seeded and No. 23 nationally-ranked Wingate Bulldogs (13-3-3) to a scoreless draw through regulation and two 10-minute overtime periods, but Wingate won the decisive penalty kick shootout 3-1 to advance past Lincoln Memorial in the semifinals of the 2015 South Atlantic Conference men's soccer tournament on Friday at Manchester Meadows in Rock Hill, S.C.
 
The first round of penalty kicks went chalk as Callum Ross converted for Wingate and Henrique Rezek (Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil) knotted it up for the Railsplitters. Aksel Juul then gave the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead before Wingate's Pablo Jara dove to his left to stonewall Philip Wong's (Hong Kong, China) attempt. Pedro Ozi (Sao Paulo, Brazil) answered right back by turning away Shaun Gadsby's shot, but Jara blanked Danilo da Silva (Campinas, Brazil) to put the Bulldogs back in the driver's seat. Jon Ander increased Wingate's lead to 3-1 after that and forced LMU's Nick Spielman (Melbourne, Fla.) - the hero in Tuesday's quarterfinal round - to make good to keep the shootout going, but Spielman's shot went high and wide.
 
It was the Railsplitters' second straight match to go to a penalty kick shootout, as Lincoln Memorial advanced around sixth-seeded Tusculum with a 5-3 PK victory in Tuesday's SAC tournament quarterfinal.
 
Wingate controlled the early passage of play, outshooting the Railsplitters 3-0 with a pair of corner kicks through the first 25 minutes, but the Railsplitters registered their first shot of the match at the 28:52 mark and continued to torment the Bulldog defense from there. Lincoln Memorial outshot Wingate 9-1 from the 29th to the 57th minutes, building a number of near misses.
 
Two of the Railsplitters' best chances occurred late in the first half. After receiving a quick rolling corner kick at 37:29, da Silva drove into the box and crossed the ball to Yinka Lawal (Bromley, England), whose header went just inches above the crossbar. A little over a minute later, da Silva recovered the ball in the Railsplitters' attacking zone and ripped a shot on goal that was swept up by Jara.
 
Bryson Lehn (Hendersonville, Tenn.) put a shot on goal a minute and two seconds into the second half, but it was the individual brilliance of da Silva that came the closest to breaking the scoreless stalemate in the 57th minute. The Campinas, Brazil native made a run up the left sideline to collect a long direct pass and he was immediately surrounded by Wingate defenders. Da Silva wiggled out of that jam and quickly broke around three different defenders back towards the middle of the field. He then used his speed to turn the corner into some open space at the box, but his shot was stopped Jara, who came flying off of his line to make the sliding save.  
 
Jara made four saves in the match to post his ninth clean slate of the season while Ozi matched that mark with four saves to pick up his third shutout.
 
The Railsplitters outshot the Bulldogs 13-11 in regulation, but Wingate accounted for the only two shots in the two overtime periods, including a last-second shot attempt by Nate Evans in double overtime that would have made penalty kicks unnecessary if not for a key stop by Ozi.
 
Da Silva led all players with four shots and three shots on goal while Rezek, Spielman and George Burne (Carlisle, England) had two shots apiece. Ross, Gadsby and Ander paced the Bulldogs with two shots each.
 
The Railsplitters will now be forced to wait to learn their postseason fate. Lincoln Memorial was ranked seventh in the most recent NCAA Southeast Region poll, but only the top six teams in the final region rankings receive bids to the NCAA tournament. The Railsplitters did earn a tie against a Wingate squad that was ranked fifth in the region and 23rd nationally, but they won't know if that's enough until the NCAA tournament selections are announced on Sunday. Lincoln Memorial is looking to return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2007.
 
Wingate advances to the SAC tournament final to face the Queens Royals, who advanced past Carson-Newman in a PK shootout, on Sunday in Rock Hill, S.C.