FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – The sixth-seeded Yeshiva University men's soccer team has advanced to the Skyline Conference Semifinals for the first time in program history, thanks to outscoring No. 3 Farmingdale State College, 4-3, in penalty kicks at the Farmingdale State Soccer Complex on Sunday afternoon. The match officially counts as a tie, 2-2, but thanks to YU's success in the shootout round, the Blue and White will battle No. 2 College of Mount Saint Vincent in the conference semifinal round on Wednesday afternoon at 2:00 p.m.

Yonatan Reiter beat the opposing goalkeeper in the sixth round to punch YU's ticket to conference semifinals. Nicolas Dlugach helped Yeshiva by making three saves during the shootout to give Reiter the opportunity to clinch it.

"There was a lot of pressure before I took the kick, but putting the ball in the net gave me the best feeling I ever had," Reiter said. "Reaching the semifinals is what we wanted and aimed for since day one. It feels amazing but the work is not over, and we have two games left to fulfill the real goal and bring the first championship in team history."

The Maccabees trailed by two goals with less than five minutes remaining in regulation time and then trailed 3-1 in the shootout round. YU was able to overcome both deficits to earn its spot in the league semifinals.

"Today we became the most successful team in program history," Yeshiva University Head Coach J.J. Davidson said. "We have incredible players, and we know this is just the beginning for this team!"

The Rams struck first in the 41^st minute as Anthony Machado took a feed from Carlos Rivera and shot the ball into the net to put YU in a 1-0 hole. That would be the score after 45 minutes of play. In the 65^th minute, Rivera found the back of the cage for his eighth of the year and giving his team a two-goal cushion.

The Maccabees had multiple opportunities to get on the board but shots by Rafael Cohen and Jess Rom, in the 83^rd and 85^th minutes respectively, were denied by Farmingdale netminder Peter Khazar.

With 4:47 left to play in regulation time, Rom connected with Asher Martin who drilled the ball into the back of the net to slice Yeshiva's deficit in half, at 2-1. Just 48 seconds later, Naor Dahan found the loose ball inside the box and rifled it past the goalkeeper to even the match at two goals apiece in a blink of an eye. That would conclude the scoring in regulation time as both teams forced overtime.

The two programs each exchanged scoring chances during the two overtime periods but neither team could kick in the match-winning tally. Penalty kicks were needed.

After the second overtime period, Dlugach entered the game in net for the Maccabees. Farmingdale took a 1-0 lead after the first round of the shootout. In the second, Dlugach denied Joe Innamorato's shot from going into the net. It was Martin's turn in the second round, and he shot the ball into the net to tie the shootout at one goal apiece heading into the third round. FSC scored in each of the next two rounds to take a 3-1 lead and put Yeshiva on the brink.

In YU's half of the fourth round, Ethan Fettaya kept the Maccabees alive by lining the ball into the cage to pull his team to within one heading into the fifth round. It was Dlugach's turn to prevent the opposition from advancing as he blocked Rivera's shot attempt. In Yeshiva's half of the fifth round, Marc Ziarno kept the Macs' season alive by beating the goalkeeper to tie it up, 3-3.

Dlugach once again came up big by making his second consecutive save to give the Maccabees an opportunity to clinch it. That's when Reiter came up and wedged the ball inside the right section of the net to send Yeshiva to the Skyline Semifinals.

"I am very happy for our team being in the semifinals for the first time in history," Dlugach said. "I trusted our players and I knew we would win. I was confident in stopping the penalty shots. I had a great feeling that our players would score to help us win."

Sagi Badash played between the posts for Yeshiva during regulation and the two overtime periods. He made six saves to help the Maccabees force the shootout round and then eventually advance into the league semifinals.

Be sure to check out YUmacs.com, and our social media channels, for updates regarding YU's conference semifinal match at College of Mount Saint Vincent.