RICHARDSON, TX (11.02.21) - The UT Dallas men's soccer team overcame rainy and cold conditions Tuesday night to punch its ticket to the semifinal round of the ASC Championship Tournament after outlasting LeTourneau in penalty kicks in the opening round at the UTD Soccer Field.

After a 1-1 draw after regulation and two extra periods, the two teams lined up for penalty kicks to cap off a highly competitive match between the programs.  After LETU missed on two of its first three kicks, Comet freshman Riley O'Donnell put away the clinching penalty kick to give the UTD a 4-2 advantage and keep the squad's season alive.

UTD, the No. 3 seed in the ASC Tournament, will next play at 8 p.m. Friday night in semifinal round in Belton against second-seeded Concordia Texas. CTX also advanced to the semifinals after a 1-1 draw and penalty kicks (6-5) against Belhaven Tuesday night. In Friday's first semifinal contest, host and top-seeded Mary Hardin-Baylor will face No. 4 seed Hardin-Simmons at 5 p.m.

The Comets (10-4-4) out-shot LETU, 36-5, in the match, but the YellowJacket defense kept UTD off balance throughout the contest. UTD finished with just 11 shots on frame and shots fell wide or high. The two teams were scoreless after the opening half before LETU grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 51st minute on a goal by Ethan Anderson.

UTD would not counter until the 84th minute when O'Donnell found the back of the net after a deep pass entry pass from teammate Brandon Buchanan which was redirected by Hashem Shehata. The tally was O'Donnell's conference-leading 13th of the season.

The Comets took 20 shots in the second half, most of which coming after falling behind, but the LETU defense blocked a majority of efforts. YellowJacket keeper Jack Carpenter finished the match with 10 saves.

LETU made its first penalty kick to open the tie-breaking procedure before Comet Brandon Bohn evened the duel, 1-1. The YellowJackets then misfired high on their second attempt, opening the door. UTD keeper Trey Nickel then came up with a key save on LETU's third attempt and UTD needed just one more successful kick after Buchanan and Benny Lube successfully buried their shots to give UTD a 3-1 lead. LETU made its fourth shot to keep the contest alive, but O'Donnell cashed in to end the shootout.

O'Donnell led the Comets with eight shots, two on goal, while Lube took seven shots, three on frame. Kane Kidwell closed the game with six shots. UTD keeper Nickel needed just one save.