JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Lady Railsplitters are moving on in the NCAA tournament for the first time in 11 years after advancing past the Lander Bearcats with a 5-3 penalty-kick shootout victory in the Southeast Regional quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon at Harvey Field in Jefferson City, Tenn. 
 
Making its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2007, Lincoln Memorial (14-4-1) raced out to a 2-0 lead after Itzel Ballesteros scored in the 19th minute and Jessica Cravero tacked on another in the 66th. However, Lander (12-2-3) responded with goals in the 69th and 84th minutes to tie it up late. 
 
The Lady Railsplitters nearly won it in regulation as Ballesteros fired off two point-blank shots in the waning seconds, but both were denied just short of the goal line by the Bearcat defense to send the match to overtime. 
 
Neither side scored in either of the overtimes, forcing a decisive penalty-kick shootout. 
 
All five Lady Railsplitters that took part in the shootout – Cravero, Fabienne Loetscher, Rachel Taylor, Gabby Garcia and Amanda Perez – scored, while LMU keeper Ann-Marie O'Connell made the only save in the shootout on an attempt by Chloe Le France to secure the 5-3 triumph. Perez snuck the final PK attempt past Lander keeper Sarah Owen to clinch the win. 
 
"Our young side panicked a little bit and we could have won it with about five seconds left, but you have to be happy with the character and perseverance of the group," said second-year head coach Sean Fraser.
 
Lincoln Memorial had to overcome quite a bit of adversity – some of its own making – to earn its spot in the Southeast Regional semifinals. 
 
While nursing a 2-0 lead, the Lady Railsplitters conceded a penalty kick in the 69th minute. Juliette Vidal converted that chance to get the Bearcats right back into the match. Just over 15 minutes later, Vidal played a through ball across the box to Kelcie Fisher, who tied it up. 
 
It marked just the third time all season that LMU has allowed multiple goals in a match and the first time since September 19. 
 
After squandering the late 2-0 lead, Fraser and his staff made sure that the young Lady Railsplitters maintained both their confidence and composure. 
 
"Keep doing what we've been doing all season and not to panic," Fraser recounted his words to the team. "It's not very often that we've conceded two goals in a game, so I think there was a little bit of panic in there as well. It's all experience for the team."
 
The Lady Railsplitters were outshot 20-10, including an 11-7 margin in shots on goal. But beautiful long-distance strikes from Ballesteros and Cravero, who scored goals 12 and 18 this season, respectively, kept the match on even footing. 
 
O'Connell was also a standout, making a season-high nine saves. That didn't include the massive stop in the penalty-kick shootout that ultimately paved the way to victory for the Lady Railsplitters. 
 
As O'Connell noted, the Lady Railsplitters have been preparing for matches like this in training all season. 
 
"It's just team chemistry and grinding out the hard work during practice," she said of the team's defensive effort. "It's just a lot of stuff we do during practice that we take care of and it comes out and shines during the game." 
 
Despite giving up a goal on a penalty kick earlier in the match, O'Connell kept the faith that she would be ready to take care of business in the biggest moment of the match. 
 
"I just stay positive and talk to myself," O'Connell said of her mindset in the shootout. "When it's down to it, I just listen to my gut, let that ride and do my best. If it goes my way it goes my way. If it doesn't you got the next one." 
 
By advancing, the Lady Railsplitters keep the most successful season for the program in over a decade alive. It's a monumental achievement, but Fraser and his players aren't anywhere near ready for it to end. 
 
"We're happy. There's no real limit to what we can do," he said. "We've shown that over the course of the season. Hopefully we can play a few more matches."
 
Due to yesterday's rainout, Lincoln Memorial will only get a short time to rest and recover before returning to the pitch to face the winner of Carson-Newman and Catawba in the Southeast Regional semifinals on Sunday night. 
 
Fraser expects that the gravity of the moment will provide plenty of adrenaline to drive the Lady Railsplitters through tomorrow's match.  
 
"It's just about how much they want to win now," he said. "We know the two teams that we might play against pretty well, but we will do even more homework on those guys and go again tomorrow."
 
The Southeast Regional semifinal match will be contested at 6:30 on Sunday back at Harvey Field in Jefferson City.