Men's Soccer | 11/1/2006 3:21:00 PM

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ITHACA, N.Y. (Nov. 1, 2006) -- Nazareth goalie Alex Kilroy saved Ithaca's fifth and final penalty kick attempt Wednesday to seal a 5-4 advantage as the Golden Flyers advanced to the Empire 8 Conference championship game in men's soccer following a 1-1 tie at Ithaca.

Nazareth made all five of its penalty kick attempts and Ithaca made its first four tries before Kilroy's dramatic save eliminated the Bombers from E8 title contention. Nazareth, now 12-4-2 overall, visits RIT Saturday for the conference title and the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Game time will be determined Thursday. Nazareth also eliminated Ithaca in penalty kicks last season after the teams played to a 0-0 tie.

Saturday's game will be a rematch of the 2005 E8 championship game in which Nazareth gained its first-ever NCAA Tournament berth through penalty kicks following a 1-1 tie. With penalty kicks being the rule rather than the exception Wednesday, RIT advanced past Alfred with a 4-2 PK advantage after the teams played to a 0-0 tie.

"It's an exciting way to win and a terrible way to lose," said Nazareth's third-year coach Danny Gilbertson. "I was proud of the way we controlled the overtimes, but when you get to penalty kicks you never know what will happen."

Nazareth got an early first-half goal from Ed Babcock (pictured), who banged in a rebound following a corner kick by Andrew Wirfel. Babcock's fifth goal of the season came at 7:29 and put the Golden Flyers on the defensive for much of the game.

Ithaca dominated most of the second half and finally scored with 2:36 left in regulation as Hugo Valencia deflected in a pass from Matt DuBois following a corner kick by Chris Holden.

Nazareth regrouped and had the better of the two 10-minute overtime periods. The Golden Flyers' best chance came midway through the first overtime when freshman Philip Holmberg broke free and took a low, hard shot that was saved by Ithaca keeper Andy Wilhlem.

After neither team scored to break the deadlock, the teams went to penalty kicks for the second year in a row. Converting for Nazareth were Babcock, Christopher Lofgren, Holmberg, Jeremy Bergan and Scott Cavanaugh. Ithaca countered with goals from Matt Peckham, Michael Jordhamo, DuBois and Mark Jeffries. On Ithaca's final attempt, sophomore Kurt Odenbach kicked left and Kilroy guessed correctly, dove and deflected the shot with his right arm, touching off a mild celebration.

"Al lives for these situations," Gilbertson said. "We don't really give him any direction in that situation; we left the strategy up to him."

Kilroy finished with seven saves while his Ithaca counterpart, Wilhelm, was credited with three saves. Ithaca had a 14-8 edge in shots and a 10-5 advantage in corner kicks.