Goshen, IN — While medically impossible — and quite inconvenient — to delve into the mind of Goshen College head men’s soccer coach Tavi Mounsithiraj at the conclusion of regulation and a pair of overtimes Saturday night, all reasonable logic would attest that there weren’t a lot of positive neurons being fired at that moment.

After all, Mounsithiraj had just watched his second-seeded squad yield a 1-1 tie with the University of St. Francis in the first round of the Mid-Central College Tournament, setting up a penalty kick showdown for the right to advance in post-season play.

It was a scenario that — historically — looked to spell doom for Goshen, as the Leafs concluded both the 2004 season (click here for related article) and last season (click here for article) in penalty kick losses.

But who says history is a foretaste of things to come?

Goshen (12-5-2, 6-1-1) cashed in on its first four penalty kicks as the visiting Cougars missed its first and fourth attempt, propelling the Leafs to MCC semi-final action in the most thrilling of circumstances. After rebounding from an own-goal and tying the game in the 80th minute of regulation, Mounsithiraj’s squad pushed away the psychological hump of failed PK shootouts to come up with a most memorable first-round conference tournament advancement.

It was all a bit too much for Mounsithiraj, however, as he could have done without the drama.

“I need a minute to let this soak in,” Mounsithiraj said following the match. “This was a very good result for us given that we have been 0-2 in (penalty kick) shootouts the last two seasons. I didn’t know what to expect from the USF side in our second straight meeting in the first round of the tournament, but I did know that they would come in here and play hard and they did.”

They also packed in the defensive third of the field from the outset of the match, obviously looking for a penalty kick finish. Clearly outmatched statistically — St. Francis came in as the league’s seventh seed with a 2-6 conference mark and 5-12-1 record overall — the Cougars used a stingy defensive scheme, led by senior goalkeeper Brandon Ingram.

“USF was ready for whatever it was we were going to throw at them tonight,” Mounsithiraj said. “Bascially, USF was on the defensive all night and playing for a counter attack and hoping for just two or three chances on goal by sending the ball long and hoping for a mistake.”

After 60 minutes of scoreless soccer, the plan seemed to work.

A long ball sent from Ingram and some light pressure by the Cougars’ forwards led to an extremely rare communication breakdown in Goshen’s backfield, scoring an own-goal and giving St. Francis a 1-0 lead just 15 minutes into the second half. A stunned Goshen College Soccer Complex crowd couldn’t believe what it was witnessing, and the St. Francis team dug in even deeper.

Things would have looked much bleaker for Goshen had it not been for a constant pressure up front, however, as the Leafs controlled the majority of play from the match’s opening kick off. Junior forward Tony Janzen and company put pressure on the St. Francis defense from the outset, with sophomore Garet Osterloo giving the Leafs the best opportunity at a score — hitting the outside of the net from 20 yards out midway through the first half.

Even after the miscue in the backfield, Goshen regained its control and poise. Ingram came up with several incredible saves — including a trio from close range — drawing gasps and the occasional, respectful applause from even the Leafs’ faithful. The law of averages eventually equaled out at the game’s 80th minute-mark, however, as Janzen took a beautiful pass from Osterloo and slid a shot past Ingram, providing more a sense of relief than excitement to the Goshen College crowd.

“After our own-goal, I looked up at the clock with about 30 minutes left to play or so and thought we had plenty of time and were playing well,” Mounsithiraj said. “I thought the equalizer goal would come. We continued to attack, getting shots on goal left and right with misses here and there. Then, Ingram made some incredible saves. We finally got on the board after Garet threaded a needle with the soccer ball through two defenders to Tony Janzen, who calmly slipped the ball past Ingram. That goal gave us some momentum, but we couldn’t find the game-winner.”

With St. Francis reduced to its original plan of heading to a PK shootout, gamesmanship began to take over. As Goshen continued to pressure the Cougar net — the Leafs took 15 shots on goal compared to St. Francis’ five on the evening — Ingram began using as much time as possible on game re-starts and goal kicks. Constantly cleaning his spikes and kicking the ball away and asking for another after receiving them from ball boys drew harsh boos and comments from the crowd, as the Cougars’ game-delay scheme became blatantly obvious as regulation and overtimes wore on.

“There was nothing we could do about those things,” Mounsithiraj said following the match. “It is in his right for gamesmanship, but it sort of takes everything away from what the NAIA’s Champions of Character stands for. Give St. Francis credit, though. They came here with a plan to get to a PK shootout and it worked. I felt that we were playing better offensively with 15 shots on goal and 10 corner kicks (St. Francis attempted two) but they came here with a plan and played hard. We would have to go to penalty kicks.”

Mounsithiraj elected to line up senior Joel Miller, Janzen, sophomore Cody Felton, senior Adam Yoder and sophomore Garet Osterloo as his first five shooters.

Osterloo never got the opportunity to try his foot at a PK.

And that — for the first time in three seasons — was a good thing.

St. Francis missed its first attempt wide and its fourth attempt caromed off the apparatus, as Miller, Janzen, Felton and Yoder all cashed in on their attempts. Goshen had advanced to the MCC semi-finals for the third straight season.

“We stayed with it tonight and proved we could advance in a game where the other side had a game plan and carried it out very well,” Mounsithiraj said. “We are looking forward to the next round. This is what you play for.”

Goshen will next get perhaps its greatest test for this early in the post-season, as arch-rival and third-seeded Bethel College will visit the Goshen College Soccer Complex Wednesday night. Match time is set for 7 p.m. Tickets are available at the gate only - $5 for adults and $2 for students. Gates will open at 6 p.m. Bethel is currently ranked 17th in the nation at the NAIA level.