Hope advances past Luther in PKs

DELAWARE, Ohio — Luther’s NCAA tournament run came to a heart breaking halt Friday afternoon in the round of 16 against Hope.

After 110 minutes of action, Luther and Hope were tied at 1-1, and the match was decided by penalty kicks. After the first round of five players from each squad, the penalty kick score was tied at 4-4.

At this point, the penalty kick format becomes sudden victory, with the first team to gain an advantage in the point total advancing to the round of eight.

The final sequence that allowed Hope to advance by a score of 6-5 on PKs was — Hope (made), Luther (made), Hope (hit post), Luther shot saved, Hope (made), Luther (made), Hope (made), Luther shot saved.

Luther held a 1-0 lead at halftime thanks to a Stephen Fernandes goal in the 34th minute assisted by James Slauson, Jr. A hand ball in the box set up a penalty kick by Hope’s Shaun Groetsema that leveled the match in the 75th minute.

Luther completes its season with an overall record of 17-3-3.  Luther’s 17 wins matches its third-highest total in school history. The Norse also posted 17 victories in 1992 and 2002.