ORANGE, CA - The No. 5 seed University of La Verne men's soccer team came out clawing in the SCIAC Tournament opener Tuesday night, taking down No. 4 seed Chapman in an electric big-cat showdown that ended with the Leopards burying eight straight penalty kicks to seal the win and punch their ticket to the semifinals.

The Leopards will face the Occidental Tigers this Thursday at 7 PM in Los Angeles in the semis. The winner of the game will go on to compete in the SCIAC Championship against the winner of No. 3 Pomona Pitzer vs No. 2 University of Redlands.

Both teams fought hard in the first 90 minutes of regular play, combining for a total of 33 shots, but with no luck. Senior goalkeeper and 3-time SCIAC Defensive Athlete of the Week Hector Duenas-Pena acted as a wall between the sticks again for the Leopards, saving nine shots and keeping the game in a 0-0 draw.

With no score at the end of regulation, overtime period one began. Midfielder Aidan Olufson nearly won the game for the Leopards in the last 50 seconds of the period, but Chapman goalkeeper Alex Glynn denied the shot and both teams reset before overtime two began.

La Verne kicked four shots in the 2nd period of overtime, while Chapman ripped two, but were unable to find the back of the net. With the game still scoreless after regulation and two overtime periods, it all came down to penalty kicks.

Both Duenas-Pena and Glynn battled through all 110 minutes, standing tall between the posts for their squads. After seven straight makes from Olufson, Juan Manzano, Hernan Sevilla, Diego Soto, Johnny Kuwano, Israel Jimenez Ramirez, and Kevin Arreola, the pressure shifted to Duenas-Pena who needed to stop the next shot. Facing Chapman's Leo Wells in the shootout, he came up clutch, denying the attempt for his biggest save of the season and bringing up reigning Leopard of the Week Alexander Bastidas, who needed to make one final kick to send La Verne to the next round.

Bastidas fired a rocket past Glynn, propelling the Leopards to an 8-7 PK win and sending the Leopards to the semifinals.

Shots: La Verne 19, Chapman 24
Saves: La Verne 10, Chapman 7
Corner Kicks: La Verne 5, Chapman 7
Fouls: La Verne 6, Chapman 12

"This is such a great feeling," said Bastidas. "The job isn't finished though, and we'll be ready on Thursday."

"My boys kept us in there. I'm so happy we got the win." said Duenas-Pena "We played such a great game. We'll be back training tomorrow to hopefully get the same result on Thursday."

Words from Head Coach Drew Rea:

"That was unbelievable. Those were some of the best PK's I've seen in a long time from both sides," said Rea. "We got another one to come, but I'm so proud."