BETHANY, Okla. – Rogers State men's soccer (8-5-6, 8-1-3 GAC/MIAA) exited the GAC/MIAA Tournament in heartbreaking fashion as they came up short 7-6 in penalty kicks after a thrilling 3-3 match against Fort Hays State (11-3-4, 8-2-2 GAC/MIAA) in the tournament semifinal on Thursday.
 
Marcos Vasallo, Artur Carvalho and Noah Preston-Watkins all scored in regulation. Declan Viljoen was outstanding in net for RSU despite giving up three goals, making 10 saves.
 
The Hillcats wasted little time getting on the board as they earned a penalty kick in the 14th minute. Vasallo lined up and fired home the game's first goal for an early 1-0 lead. The Tigers responded in the 32nd minute, leveling things at 1-1. FHSU narrowly out shot RSU 6-4 in the period with both sides taking three shots on goal.
 
The energy remained high in the second half as both teams stayed on the attack. The Tigers went ahead 2-1 early in the 48th minute. However, Carvalho answered quickly in the 53rd minute with the equalizer. In the 63rd minute, Erik Hjertsson drove into the box and made a quick pass over to Preston-Watkins who buried the ball in the back of the net to put RSU back in front 3-2. FHSU once again came back and knotted things at 3-3 in the 76th minute, which eventually forced overtime.
 
After two scoreless overtime periods, the match went to penalty kicks to determine who advanced to the championship match. Both sides made their shots in the first two rounds. In the third round, the Hillcats found themselves in a hole as FHSU made their shot while RSU had their shot saved. Declan Viljoen even things back out as he saved the Tiger's fifth shot with Vasallo finding the back of the net to keep things alive. Unfortunately, after making FHSU made their shot in the seventh round, the Tigers' keeper made a diving stop to give the Fort Hays the win.
 
With the Hillcats now out of the GAC/MIAA Tournament, they must wait to see if they have done enough to earn an at-large bid for the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Tournament.