Senior Carter Schwarberg drilled home the game-winning penalty kick as the No. 12 ranked Washington University women’s soccer team advanced to its first NCAA Division III National Championship final with a 4-3 shootout win over No. 21 Lynchburg College on Friday afternoon at the Blossom Soccer Complex in San Antonio, Texas.

Washington University (17-3-3) takes on No. 1 ranked and defending national champion Messiah College on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Falcons posted a 1-0 victory over No. 9 The College of New Jersey in the first semifinal. Messiah (24-0-1) enters the contest with a 51-match unbeaten streak, and is the 2005 and 2008 NCAA Division III National Champions.

"This was for my team, and I wanted to help them advance to the next round. It was just another penalty kick for me, so I just had to calm myself down to put it where I wanted," said Schwarberg. "I am on a high right now and not sure how to feel at the moment, but we are very excited for tomorrow."

Ashley Hoath game Lynchburg an early 1-0 lead in the shootout, and then after a save by freshman goalkeeper Clara Jaques, senior Caryn Rosoff snuck one in off the left post to knot the score. The teams then connected on four-straight kicks with successful attempts from sophomore Lee Ann Felder and senior Becca Heymann to tie the score at 3-3.

After Brittany Klippstein’s shot went right and a save by Jaques on Katelyn LeRiche’s attempt, Schwarberg’s sudden-death penalty kick found the back of the net sending Washington U. to tomorrow’s final.

"Today we played very hard, and Carter put the exclamation point at the end with what she has done for this team all year long," said Washington University second-year head coach Jim Conlon.

"Today was much scarier than the shootout we had with Wheaton. The Final Four is not another game like people try to tell you it is," said Jaques. "I knew if I could come up with a couple saves, I could keep us in it."

Lynchburg (17-3-5) had the first scoring opportunity of the day just over a minute into play. Jaques deflected Ashley Hoath’s shot from 30 yards off the crossbar for a save at the 1:12 mark. The Bears controlled play the following 15 minutes, but resulted in just two shots. Betsy Kwiatkowski nearly broke the 0-0 tie at 19:44, as her shot from 20 yards out ricocheted off the crossbar.

Washington U. outshot Lynchburg, 8-7 in the first half, while the Bears had a 4-0 advantage in corner kicks. The Bears had two prime scoring opportunities in the first 30 minutes of play off corner kicks. Schwarberg’s header was wide right in the 11th minute, and Lynchburg goalkeeper Audrey Moore saved sophomore Natalie Callaghan’s header in the 29th minute.

A goal by junior Julie Tembunkiart two minutes before halftime gave Washington University a 1-0 lead. Senior Elyse Hanly’s cross landed in the box, and Tembunkiart snuck through the Hornet defense to sneak a shot into the near corner. The goal for Tembunkiart was her third of the season and fourth of her career.

Lynchburg, who was making its first-ever appearance in the Final Four, controlled the first 20 minutes of the second half, outshooting the Bears 6-0. Kwiatkowski sent a left-footed shot off the crossbar just 41 seconds into play. A few minutes later, Hoath’s one-timer was saved out of bounds by Jaques. The ensuing corner kick by Hoath landed in the box, and then snuck across the goal line for an own goal as the ball deflected off a WUSTL defender. Lynchburg had a 9-2 advantage in shots in the second half, and 16-11 through the first 90 minutes of play.

Washington U. put together a late flurry of chances in the first overtime. Graduate student Sam Murphy and senior Libby Held each had shots on goal that were saved by Moore, and then a header by Hanly went off the post with 48 seconds left. Lynchburg outshot Washington U, 19-16, for the match, but the Bears had an 8-3 advantage in corner kicks.

"This is a perfect culmination of the last four years," Schwarberg added. "The senior class is very close, and this is just great for the whole team and the Washington University women’s soccer family."

Bear Notebook: Washington University is 14-7-5 all-time in the NCAA Tournament …This was the Bears fourth overtime game in the NCAA Tournament … Washington U. is 4-0-3 this season, and 5-0-5 in two seasons under Conlon … This was the first meeting in school history between Washington U. and Lynchburg.