ALLENDALE, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University women's soccer team advanced to the 2012 GLIAC Women's Soccer Tournament Championship with a 4-2 decision in penalty kicks over Michigan Technological University.

The Lady Cardinals came out aggressive in the first half as Lexie Brisson-Fast (Ferndale, Mich.) kept the Huskies defensive unit on their heels as she had numerous scoring chances. However, both teams were unable to score for the remainder of the first half and the entirety of the second half.

The semifinal matchup then went into a pair of overtime sessions which were unable to produce a golden goal as the contest went into penalty kicks.

Saginaw Valley's first attempt was stopped by the Tech keeper as the Huskies took the 1-0 edge after one round. Freshman Presley Tibbetts (Grandville, Mich.) fired one into the net in round two before Cardinal goalkeeper Laura Ivezaj (Rochester Hills, Mich.) made a great save to tie the shootout at 1-1.

Senior Charley Porter (Midland, Mich.) drove one right down the middle and into the back of the net in the third round as Tech answered to put the match at two goal each. In round four, Kali Barry (Mason, Mich.) led things off with a shot that beat the keeper and Ivezaj responded by making a diving save to her right giving SVSU a 3-2 edge.

Mallory Litwiller (Traverse City, Mich. / West HS) came through in the clutch with the game-clinching goal as she fooled the MTU keeper giving the Cardinals the 4-2 victory.

The Cardinals will face the winner of tonight's semifinal matchup between Grand Valley State and Ferris State on Sunday at 1:00 PM on Sunday at the GVSU Soccer Field in Allendale.