By Eric Frantz For The Dayton Daily News

CEDARVILLE | The only thing decided during Wednesday's Division I girls soccer regional semifinal at Cedarville University's Yellow Jacket Field is that Centerville is heading to Saturday's regional final at Hamilton.

The Elks survived Northmont in a marathon game that lasted 110 minutes and went to the eighth penalty kick. Centerville junior Meagan Bailey sealed the deal when she connected after a Thunderbolt miss in sudden death.

"We told the girls regardless of the polls that this was to see who was the No. 1 team in Dayton," Centerville coach Don Skelton said. "We never really did decide that on the field."

Said Northmont coach Walt Slade: "We have nothing to be ashamed of. Sometimes the best team doesn't always win when it comes down to penalty kicks."

Riding a defensive wave, Northmont entered the contest with 11 shutouts in its last 12 games, all wins. Early on it appeared as if the T-Bolts would add to both categories.

Northmont took the lead just eight minutes in when freshman Jeannie Borda found the back of the net on a 15-yard shot from the right side. After that the teams slugged through a defensive battle.

Centerville (17-2-2) finally got on the board with 28 minutes to go when a corner kick from Katie Parker was kept alive by Ashley Vaughan in front of the T-Bolt net and deflected in by a Northmont (15-4-2) defender.

Through two 15 minute overtimes the game remained 1-1.

In the initial penalty kick period, Northmont led 1-0 after the first attempts but Centerville responded with four consecutive scores from Michelle Hartman, Taylor Hoffman, Katy Bluher and Krystin Gehrich. Northmont had goals from Alex Shaffer, Jessica Butler, Sam Shaffer and Kelly Poppaw.

Tied 4-4, the teams went through two sudden-death rounds before Bailey bagged the game-winner. It was just Bailey's fourth goal of the year and her first penalty attempt on varsity.

"I knew if I missed it we still had another chance, but I knew I could end it if I made it," Bailey said. "So much pressure was released when it went in. The best thing is we get to practice tomorrow."

The win elevates Centerville to its first regional final since 1997.

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