PAINESVILLE, OH. – Rarified air for the Kentucky Wesleyan men's soccer team on Saturday night. The Panthers advanced to the Great Midwest Athletic Conference semifinals with a win over Lake Erie at Jack Britt Stadium. 110 minutes was not enough to break a 1-1 tie as Wesleyan moved-on after a seven-round shootout. Pavel Valchev converted the game-winning PK while Soufian Khaloufi made three saves in the seven rounds of penalty kicks.
 
Before the dramatics on Saturday night, the Panthers were picked to finish ninth by the G-MAC head coaches back in August. Now the Panthers are among four teams vying for a Conference Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance.  The victory also stands as the program's first G-MAC Tournament win. 
 
On the unusually narrow pitch, the Strom scored first in the 27^th minute. Lake Erie out-shot the Panthers 3-2 in the opening period and held a 1-0 lead at the break. Throughout the second period, the Storm were forced to defend with excruciating effort. The Panthers continued to pressure the Storm net, but no avail. 
 
In the 87^th minute, Callum Nolan tied the match after another high-level set piece. After a long throw-in from the far side, the ball bounced through traffic to the near side and to Nolan. Simultaneously, Adrian Stokke and Santiago Henrich were taken down in front of Nolan leaving a path to the Storm goal. 
 
Nolan's shot was deflected off keeper Jason Lavacca and into the left corner of the net to tie the match. The Panthers outshot the Storm 8-2 in the second half and as the match moved into extra time Wesleyan continued to control the game. 
 
The Panthers were physical and aggressive in both extra periods, outshooting Lake Erie 6-0 in the final 20 minutes. The final shot of overtime was the most dramatic. With 25 seconds left Jacob Boling grabbed the ball for a throw-in as he found Hannes Gronevik. Falling back, Gronevik's shot hit the post and the ball bounded in front of and away from the Lake Erie goal-line as time expired. 
 
The Storm converted on their first three attempts in the shootout. Calum Newson and Haakon Torvbraaten took the Panthers' first two attempts and converted. Nolan was next and Lavacca seemed to make a save, but left the goal line too early, allowing Nolan a second chance. Nolan and the Panthers did not waste their opportunity, making good on the kick. 
 
Khaloufi saved the Storm's fourth shot while Stokke gave the Panthers the edge 4-3. Lake Erie connected on their fifth attempt forcing the Panthers to make their final shot. Henrich's shot was saved, but Khloufi answered with another save in the sixth round. With another chance to end the match, Boling's shot was saved as the shootout remained 4-4. 
 
As pressured continued to mount, Khaloufi made yet another save in the seventh round giving Valchev the opportunity to send the Panthers to Tiffin. Lavacca guessed to his left, while Valchev went right to end the match. The Panthers are making their first appearance in the G-MAC semifinals in school history. 
 
The Panthers will play Tiffin in the G-MAC Final Four on Thursday afternoon. The match is scheduled to start at 12:30PM CT. Prior to the game Findlay will take on Thomas More. 
 
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