WASHINGTON – The No. 1 Catholic University of America men's soccer team charged the CUA soccer field after eight rounds of penalty kicks on Wednesday, as they advanced to the Landmark Conference finals over No. 4 Goucher College after a nail-biting goal-for-goal finish on Wednesday.

The teams played an almost evenly matched 90 minutes with Goucher outshooting Catholic at a mere 11 to 9 in regulation.  

The Cardinals struck first in the 75th minute of play, when junior Tyler Zimmerman sent the ball into the 6-yard box to freshman Jack Traxler. The Gopher defense misread the play, as Traxler propelled the ball past goalkeeper Nicholas Stolarz for the CUA 1-0 lead.

With just two minutes left in regulation, Goucher's Lashaw Salta put an unassisted shot past senior Torsten Meuschke for the tying goal.

Catholic and Goucher finished regulation and two overtime periods in a 1-1 draw. The Cardinal's took seven shots, five on target, over the 20 minutes of extra play, but were unable to connect to the back of the net.  

The game proceeded to a shootout to determine the contender of the conference finals.

Throughout the 110 minute match, Catholic's Meuschke made eight saves, while Goucher's Stolarz snagged nine. Heading into the penalty kicks, the Cardinals made a lineup change and sent senior Cam McGrory into the net for the game deciding shootout.  

Both teams made it through the first five rounds of PKs with four goals apiece before a series of sudden death penalty kicks. Goucher's Luis Gomez stepped to the line in the eighth round and sent his shot wide. The crowd went wild as the Cardinals earned their spot in the Landmark Conference finals.

"The guys are very excited to move through to the finals," said CUA Head Men's Soccer coach Travis Beauchamp. "No one likes to go to penalties, but I thought our guys were well prepared."

The No.1 CUA Cardinals will take on the No. 2 United States Merchant Marine Academy Mariners in the Landmark Conference finals on Saturday, November 8 at 1:30 p.m. As the top seed, Catholic has earned home field advantage for the final contest, which will be played at CUA Soccer Field in Washington D.C.

Penalty Kicks: Round 1 (Alex Laprade, CUA, good, Nate Margolis, GC, no good). Round 2 (Miguel Hernandez, CUA, good, Thomas Adair, GC, good). Round 3: (Ben Fleri, CUA, good, Salta, GC, good). Round 4: (Josh Barrett, CUA, no good, George El-Khoury, GC, good). Round 5: (Zimmerman, CUA, good Kevin Tonkovich, GC, good ). Round 6: (Nico Bartolomeo, CUA, good, Brandon Weiner, GC, good). Round 7: (Heston Priestley, CUA, good, Sam Bloxam, GC, good). Round 8: (Sean Adams, CUA, good, Gomez, GC, no good).

Notes: This is the Cardinals fifth overall appearance in the Landmark Conference finals, and first since 2011.

After winning back to back tiles in 2009 and 2010, the Cardinals fell to USMMA, 1-0, in 2011.

CUA men's soccer was defeated in their first appearance in 2008 by Susquehanna, 1-0.