ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University men's soccer team will play for the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Tournament Championship, after advancing on penalties against Albion College. After regulation and two overtime periods the score was tied 1-1, but The Thunder prevailed during penalty kicks by a tally of six to five.

The Thunder had the first shots of the game with Braden Estep hitting the crossbar and then forcing a save in the eighth minute of play. The Britons responded in the 12^th minute by forcing a relatively easy save out of Aidan McGonagle.

Trine broke the tie in the 36^th minute. Luke Kearns made a spectacular pass from midfield to give the team the scoring chance. Evan Komrska collected the ball inside of the penalty area and moved toward the center of the goal with a stutter step before firing a shot into the left side of the net.

The second half saw the Thunder pressure the Albion keeper early on, with Komrska forcing a save in the 54^th minute. But a handball inside of the box, gave the Britons a penalty kick in the 79^th minute of play, which they converted for the equalizer.

Neither side threatened in the first overtime. For the second, Albion sat back in the defensive zone looking to force penalty kicks. Trine nearly made them pay for the passivity with a pair of quality chances. First Jarick Aguilar tried to take advantage of rainy conditions with a long shot which the opposing keeper just barely saved away. Then the team received an indirect kick from just inside the penalty area and Djimo Kouyate nearly kicked through the defensive wall.

Still tied after 110 minutes, the teams lined up for penalty kicks to decide who would advance. After the Britons converted their opening shot, it appeared that their keeper saved Kearns' attempt. No one in the stadium noticed the side referee raise his flag against the keeper, signaling a retake. The senior buried the second chance for a huge swing in momentum.

McGonagle made a save on his next attempt and then another on the third, with Kouyate scoring in between to give the Thunder a 2-1 lead and a chance to make it 3-1. Albion made a save to keep it at 2-1 and then tied it with a make of their own in the third round. After five rounds the teams were tied at three a piece.

In the third round of sudden death, and eighth overall, the Britons kicker sent his shot wide of the net. Ben Borak played hero in response, scoring the sixth try for the team and giving them the final edge 6-5.

The Thunder end the day 7-6-3 overall but will head to the championship round of the tournament with the penalties success. They are set to host Calvin University on Saturday, November 9, with opening kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. on Shive Field.