The University of Denver women's soccer team stared down adversity and overcame it with ease through four overtime periods to earn a hard fought tie against No. 2 seed Florida International, 1-1 on Thursday (Nov. 1) night at University Park in Miami, Fla. The Pioneers earned an opportunity to compete for the conference championship against No. 1 North Texas with a decisive 4-1 decision in penalty kicks.

Denver junior keeper Erica Izard (Fort Collins, Colo.) blocked FIU's second penalty try to propel the Pioneers to victory. Denver celebrated successful penalty shots from juniors Kristin Warren (Littleton, Colo.) and Camile Flenniken (Northglenn, Colo.) and sophomores Jamie Norwood (Littleton, Colo.) and Mychael Movius (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) in the deciding contest.

Both teams matched each other stride for stride and battle for battle during the first ten minutes of the contest before Denver's offense attempted to take control in the zone. The Pioneers struggled to manufacture a scoring opportunity and surrendered to a counter attack by Florida International that resulted in the game's first goal. FIU is the first team to record a goal in the opening half against Denver since Sep. 18 vs. Colorado, a span of 13 games.

The fluke goal was scored when Izard attempted to clear the ball from inside the goal box. FIU forward Michelle O'Brien positioned herself in front of Izard and deflected the ball with her back into the empty net to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead at 15:19. Both defensive units tightened up as the half wore on and Denver entered the recess trailing for only the second time this season, which last occurred on Sep. 3 against No. 3 UCLA.

The Pioneers, who have been unaccustomed to trailing this season, opened the second half on their heels and were forced to defend FIU's offensive pressure early on. Denver's resilience eclipsed the Panther's attack, which resulted in the Pioneer's game-tying goal when Norwood fired a free kick from 30-yards out on the left side that slid underneath FIU keeper Amy Staley to tie the game 1-1 at 50:27.

"I am so excited right now," said Norwood. "This team believed the entire time that we could win and we did. Sure we were frustrated when they got that goal in the first half, but we came together a halftime and were confident enough that we could get the job done."

The contest turned physical late in the game as both teams continued to battle for possession, but regulation would expire with the score knotted at one a piece. Without head coach Jeff Hooker, who was escorted from the game in the first half, and junior forward Katie Antoniovanni (Bakersfield, Calif.), who received her second yellow card of the match midway through the second overtime period, the Pioneers battled through four scoreless overtime frames before penalty kicks were contested to decide the outcome of the match.

"This team deserves so much credit," said assistant coach Scott DeDycker. "We played two overtime periods at a disadvantage and still dominated play on the field. This team was so confident the entire game, I knew without a doubt that we could pull this off, even if it came down to penalty kicks."