CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas—In the conference tournament, teams will have to lean on veterans to come through when it matters most.

Northwestern State (6-10-2) did just that, and graduate student Emme' Fernandez announced to the world she wasn't ready for her collegiate career to end.

Fernandez not only scored the game-tying goal in the 69^th minute, but also finished off the victory in penalty kicks, as the NSU soccer team rallied to down the hosts Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (7-8-4) 4-2 in penalty kicks and 1-1 on the official scoreboard on Wednesday evening to move on to the semifinals.

It is the school's fourth trip to the tournament semifinals in the past five seasons.

The fourth-seeded Lady Demons advance to battle regular season champion Lamar on Friday at 7 p.m.

"I am really happy with the fight and resiliency we showed to come from behind and rebound from them scoring the early second half goal.

"Overall, I thought we were the better team. I thought we controlled possession and created really good chances. We just couldn't find the back of the net that second time and it ended up going to penalty kicks. But we are always confident in PKs with Libe and the shooters we have."

Fernandez, a native of Van Alstyne, Texas, had the game resting on her foot on the fourth kick from NSU. She calmly stepped up and drilled the winning goal going top shelf.

"It feels great to be able to come through with the sealing goal," Fernandez said. "All the girls in front of me in the penalty kicks and especially Libe made some really big moments happen tonight.

"Libe made some great saves and the freshmen did a really good job of stepping up to the plate and burying those in the back of the net when we needed it most."

AMCC goalkeeper Zoe Theriot, who finished with a game-high seven saves, stuck a paw up and hit the ball, but the shot had enough steam to keep on its path and find the back of the net to give NSU the win, setting off a celebration at the top of the box.

The Lady Demons won 4-2 in penalty kicks, as NSU called upon three freshmen—Julia Pinho Magno, Riley Stern and Emily Senatore—to kick it off in the penalty kicks. And every one of them found the back of the net.

"The three freshmen earned those chances," Brophy said. "They are some of our best PK takers and are cool customers as freshmen. It was easy to trust them."

While the offense was doing its part in the penalty kicks, NSU goalkeeper Libe Banuelos stopped two of the four Islanders shots she faced to set the stage for Fernandez to knock home the winner.

"I just pick a side on PKs and go 100 percent to that side," Banuelos said. "I look at them and think 'I think they're going to this side.' Then my teammates did the hardest part and scored the goals."

Even though the penalty kick portion will garner much of the attention, regulation was just as thrilling.

With the Lady Demons down on the scoreboard 1-0, Fernandez tied the game in the 69^th minute. After NSU had been applying pressure much of the second half, Fernandez finally broke through.

"I think I just saw an opportunity for us to capitalize and get back in the game," Fernandez said. "I wanted to be able to do that for my team. Even if that shot didn't go in, I knew we would get back on the pitch and keep fighting."

Halee Griffin tried to jam a pass into Taylor Spitzer, but the ball was deflected and found its way back out to Fernandez and she blasted a shot from the top right of the box into the top left corner of the goal to even the match.

Even if there was no scoring the rest of regulation and overtime, it was not for a lack of chances.

Each team had golden opportunities to win the game, but the defenses stood tall. In the 80^th minute, AMCC's Megan Guy had a free run to try to push the Islanders back into the lead.

Caroline Hilliard, one of the members of the championship team of two seasons ago, came up with the biggest defensive play of the game, recording a sliding tackle in the box. She hit all ball on the tackle and thwarted Guy's attack.

The Islanders also had a goal waived off due to an offsides call earlier in the second half that would have doubled their advantage.

In the 98^th minute, the Lady Demons had their biggest chance at winning the contest, as Spitzer had a 1v1 chance with Theriot, but the AMCC goalkeeper came out to challenge and robbed the NSU sophomore of the go-ahead tally.

Spitzer led NSU with a game-high six shot attempts, as NSU won the shots battle 22-15. It is the third time in the last four contests the Lady Demons have reached the 20-shot mark and NSU has attempted double digit shots for the fifth consecutive match.

Fernandez and Emily Senatore each recorded four shot attempts and Magno had three.

NSU was aiming to climb back to level after surrendering an Islanders goal early in the second half off the foot of Mai-Lisa Atis, who scored bottom right after a scramble and she was found with a pass. Atis did the rest, chipping the ball past a diving Banuelos for the game's first goal.

The goal began the scoring after a scoreless first half. Each team had chances to take the lead, but the defenses stood their ground. NSU rebounded from a shaky start to control a majority of the half.

NSU's offense generated a season-high 11 corner kicks in the contest, compared to four for AMCC.

Atis led the Islanders with five shot attempts, four of which were on frame.