ALLENDALE, Mich. - An old sports adage states ''it''s tough to beat a team three times in a season'' and unfortunately for the Ohio Dominican women''s soccer team, that motto proved true as the 2011 GLIAC South Division Champs and overall No. 2 seed were upset by Ashland in a demoralizing 4-3 penalty kick shootout. The Panthers controlled much of the play on both sides of the pitch in Friday evening''s first tournament semifinal, outshooting the Eagles 17-6 for the game, including 8-5 on shots on goal, but with neither team able to find the timely score, the winner was determined by one of the most exciting finishes in all of sports. Ashland gained the early advantage after the first bout of kicks as keeper Rebecca Plescia denied ODU''s first attempt. Shortly after, Kaitlyn Bonar (Fr./Marietta, OH) made a diving stop to her left to stop the Eagles'' third kick as the Panthers'' Sierra Patterson (Sr./Brecksville, OH), Tonya Frasik (Fr./Lebanon, OH) and Megan Augusta (So./Lyndhurst, OH) rattled off three consecutive makes to even the shootout at 3-3. However, a wide right shot on ODU''s final look allowed Katelyn Peterson to nail the decisive score to advance Ashland to its first ever conference final appearance. With the draw and their 10th shutout of the season, the Panthers ran their unbeaten streak to nine games and concluded the year with a record of 10-6-3, the fifth straight season of at least 10 wins or more. The third-seeded Eagles, now 9-7-4, advance to take on two-time defending national champion and No. 1 seed, Grand Valley State (Mich.) in the tournament finals on Sunday. Contact: Bryan Desch deschb@ohiodominican.edu