Box Score

Erie, Pa. – The 12th-ranked Slippery Rock University men's soccer team earned the right to host the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championship game after edging Mercyhurst 6-5 in a thrilling penalty kick shootout that decided the PSAC Semifinals Wednesday. The game will be officially recorded as a tie, with Slippery Rock advancing to the PSAC finals by way of a 6-5 victory in penalty kicks.

Thomas Pool was credited with the winning penalty attempt in the eighth round after Greg Blum made a diving save to his left to seal the 6-5 win.

Mercyhurst scored in the 18th minute when Billy Colton scored on a free kick after The Rock was called for a hand ball.

Slippery Rock battled back to tie the game in the 72nd minute when Iain Langstone beat Mercyhurst keeper Diego Gustin to the far post off a double assist from Jeremy Deighton and Benjamin Lloyd.

Neither team could find the net through the remainder of the second half and each of the two overtime periods, setting up the dramatic finish.

Kenneth Fultz took the first penalty kick for Slippery Rock and scored. Colton answered for Mercyhurst to tie the shootout at 1-1 after one round.

Gustin made a save on Michael Ramirez in the second round and Dean Atkins converted his attempt to put the Lakers up 2-1.

Patrick Conley put his shot in and Blum recorded a save on Michael De Rose in the third round to tie the shootout at 2-2.

Langstone scored on his attempt in the fourth round and Arash Fahandezh was stopped to give The Rock a 3-2 lead after four rounds.

Gustin made a save on Shane Kelley and Christoph Hampel scored on his attempt to tie the shootout at 3-3 and force sudden death after five rounds.

In the sixth round, both Anthony Paganie and Austin Soloman made their attempts to tie the shootout at 4-4.

In the seventh round, both Alex Swartz and Tommy Lund were successful to keep the shootout even at 5-5.

In the eighth round, Pool converted his attempt with a hard shot that found the upper right corner of the net, putting Slippery Rock up 6-5. Blum made that margin stand when he dove to his left to rob Eric Steinmetz and end the game.

The game, officially recorded in the season record as a tie, was the first draw of the season for The Rock, which moves to 16-3-1 overall on the season. The tie was also the first of the season for the Lakers, who fall to 14-5-1.

Mercyhurst finished the game with a 14-13 advantage in total shots and a 7-4 edge in corner kicks. The Rock held a 6-3 advantage in shots on goal.

Slippery Rock will host Millersville, the top-ranked team in the country, in the PSAC Championship Saturday at Thompson Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. A complete preview, including ticket prices and links for live audio and live statistics, will be posted on the Slippery Rock Web site Thursday.

This will mark Slippery Rock's first appearance in the conference championship since 2005, when The Rock won its first conference championship. Millersville, which climbed to the No. 1 national ranking in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll released Tuesday, will play in its second consecutive PSAC Championship game. The  Marauders lost at home vs. California (Pa.) last season.