DOVER, DE—College soccer only uses a penalty kick shootout in postseason and NJIT's 4-2 advantage from the spot after the teams had played to a 1-1 draw through 110 minutes lifted the Highlanders past  Francis Marion in Friday's semifinal of the Division I Independent Women's Soccer Tournament hosted by Delaware State.
 
Abi Fakolujo's successful try in the fourth round, followed by a miss for Francis Marion's Britt Smith clinched the tiebreaker session for NJIT after four rounds.
 
Junior defender Jaclyn Ward made two big plays for NJIT, one on each end, to play a key role for the Highlanders. Her 30-yard shot in 38th minute produced NJIT's lone goal and her defensive play in the 94th minute prevented what would have been a golden goal for the Patriots' Chanel Harris on an on-target header off of a corner kick.
 
NJIT sophomore goalkeeper Karen David did not make a save in the run of play and allowed the one Francis Marion goal. But David stopped two of the Patriots' four shootout tries, helping the Highlanders through to Sunday's 2 pm championship game.
 
The Highlanders will take on host and top seed Delaware State, which won Friday's other semifinal, 1-0, over South Carolina State. NJIT was a 2-1 winner when it hosted Delaware State on October 10. The Highlanders never trailed in that game.
 
Friday's semifinal result for NJIT and Francis Marion is officially recorded as a tie, leaving NJIT at 3-12-2, while Francis Marion is 3-11-1.
 
Britt Smith, Francis Marion's senior defender, scored her first goal of the season for the Patriots in the eighth minute, unassisted. The lead held for nearly half an hour before NJIT's Ward equalized for her first goal of the season, assisted sophomore Dana Schules, who picked up her team-leading fourth assist.
 
Francis Marion had a 17-9 edge in total shots in the 110 minutes of play leading up to the shootout, but only two were on target--the Smith goal and the overtime header by Harris that was stopped by NJIT's Ward and went into the books as a "team" save. NJIT had a 4-2 lead in on-target shots, with Schules and Ward each credited with a pair of shots on goal for the Highlanders.
 
Francis Marion keeper Taylor O'Berry allowed the one goal and made three saves, but she was beaten on all four NJIT attempts in the shootout.
 
Highlander senior Jenny Cislo, who had scored on her only penalty kick of the 2014 season, got things started in Friday's tiebreaker by knocking the ball home from the penalty spot.
 
Chanel Harris answered for Francis Marion and Kylie Jones converted her try for the Highlanders. Arianna Pierner missed for the Patriots and Megan Dellavalle's successful shot for NJIT put the Highlanders up 3-1. Sandy Odembo was successful on Francis Marion's try in the third round, but the Patriots still trailed, 3-2.
 
Abi Fakolujo began Round 4 with a successful kick for NJIT, rocketing her shot past O'Berry into the upper left corner. The Highlanders clinched when Smith, the Francis Marion first-half goal scorer, was denied by David, who guessed correctly, diving to her right and punching the ball away.
 
Smith's goal for the Patriots had come on a high shot from the top of the box at 7:22. David, the NJIT keeper, got her hands on the shot, but couldn't keep it from entering the net.
 
The Highlander score came from a greater distance still, 30 yards, as the speedy Schules, who has made dangerous runs on the right wing all season, dropped the ball back to Ward, who knocked it home at 37:08.