WSOC v South Dakota State (8 NOV 14) - Highlights
WSOC v South Dakota State (8 NOV 14) - SDSU Post Game
WSOC v South Dakota State (8 NOV 14) - Full Game

DENVER - The third-seed University of Denver women's soccer team fell in a penalty shootout to top-seeded South Dakota State on Saturday afternoon at CIBER Field at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium.

"I'm so proud of our team," head coach Jeff Hooker said. "I don't think we would have done anything different to prepare for this game. We wouldn't have played any different, trained any different or put any different players in. We were very good on the day. Not getting a second goal came back to bite us. We performed very, very well. We gave up two chances, and they scored on one of them in the last minute. It stings a lot in the last minute, when you think you have a game won, and go from that to losing in penalties. That's why they call it a cruel games sometime."

Boothe scored her second of the tournament in the 22nd minute on another set-piece goal, this one directly off the corner kick service from junior Stella Norman (Lakewood, Colo.). Norman placed her corner over the South Dakota State keeper just outside the six, and Boothe ran onto the header, placing it right down the middle of an empty net.

Junior Tina Vargas (Issaquah, Wash.), who was making just her 11th start of the season in today's final, came up with a huge save in the 29th minute as Shelby Raper made a couple moves to get free in the box, but her shot from just inside the penalty spot was saved to Vargas's right. Denver took that 1-0 lead into the intermission.

Senior outside back Caitlin Higgins (Boulder, Colo.) left the game in the 77th minute with an injury. The match was delayed 19 minutes.

Vargas made another save the 87th minute, as Jennie Scislow fired a bullet from just over 20 yards out. The junior keeper finished the match with four saves.

SDSU's Nicole Hatcher finally found the equalizer for the Jackrabbits in the 90^th minute as Delaney Ratcliffe set a ball to the opposite corner from just inside the midfield line. Hatcher ran onto it from the right side, and one-timed her attempt into the back of the net.

The two team's played to two scoreless periods of extra time.

Both keepers made one save in the first five kicks before Nicole Inskeep saved Denver's sixth kick from the spot, and Tori Poole finished the match with her spot kick into the top right corner.

South Dakota State earns the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Field of 64.

All-Tournament Team
Brooke Boothe, Denver
Francesca Garzelloni, Denver
Nicole Hatcher, South Dakota State
Nicole Inskeep, South Dakota State
Anisha Kinnarath, North Dakota State
Tori Poole, South Dakota State (MVP)
Diana Potterveld, South Dakota State
Anna Rode, IUPUI
Kalli Shepler-Tucker, IUPUI
Tina Vargas, Denver
Tristyn Walczak, North Dakota State

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