COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Most couldn't believe it. Many just couldn't put it in to the right words. But make no mistake about it - the Georgetown University women's soccer team is headed to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Two nights after winning their first-ever postseason game, the Hoyas secured their spot in the third round with a thrilling win in penalty kicks, stunning the crowd at Ludwig Field.

Georgetown, now 14-6-2 overall, will advance to play in the NCAA Tournament Third Round at a site and time to be determined against Minnesota, 2-0 winners over Texas A&M. Georgetown will play at Minnesota on Saturday, Nov. 20. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m.

"We had some kids step up to the plate and we had a goalkeeper who knew we needed to make some saves and she did," Head Coach Dave Nolan said.

The advance to the Sweet 16 was made possible in large part to the work done by senior goalkeeper Jackie DesJardin (Sunnyvale, Calif./Archbishop Mitty), who made two saves in penalty kicks. After DesJardin stopped Maryland's firs shot, the Hoyas took a 1-0 lead on a shot from junior Ingrid Wells (Upper Montclair, N.J./Montclair). DesJardin came back with yet another save on the second shot, but Maryland's Yewande Balogun saved a shot from freshman Emily Menges (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) to keep it 1-0.

After Maryland tied the score, freshman Katilin Brenn (Branchburg, N.J./Somerville) connected and junior Samantha Baker (Long Beach, Calif./Wilson) scored on the Hoyas' fourth shot, giving GU a 3-2 lead. As DesJardin stepped to the line for the fifth shot, her teammates braced for the chance to rush the field. The shot from Ashley Grove went to the right and bounced off the post, starting the celebration from the Hoyas.

"I knew coming in that it was going to be a tight game," Head Coach Dave Nolan said. "Maryland is a fantastic team and I feel bad for them. I'm thrilled for my kids. It was an evenly played game. There were spells when we were on top and spells when they were on top. I thought our back four played tremendous and I thought Camille (Trujillo) did a great job. Our kids worked their butts off against a team that is one of the top four in the country in front of their own fans.

"We had a disappointing BIG EAST Tournament so we know what it feels like. This is just great, for us to be moving on to the Sweet 16, I don't think it gets any better."

The Hoyas had taken a 1-0 lead six minutes into the second half when junior forward Camille Trujillo (Albuquerque, N.M./St. Pius X) chested a ball in from the post past Balogun at 50:40. GU's initial shot from sophomore Christina O'Tousa (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor) bounced off the cross bar inside Maryland's six-yard box. The ball bounced up and off a Maryland player toward the post where Trujillo was able to put it away.

Maryland turned up the offensive pressure after going down 1-0 and got the equalizer in the 65th minute. Caitlin McDowell played a long ball from the back over the top of the Hoya defense. DesJardin tried to come off of her line to intercept the ball, but couldn't get to it and was caught out of the net by Maryland's Sade Ayinde, who scored on a shot from 25 yards out.

A minute later, the Hoyas nearly the broke the tie when a shot from 30 yards out from Baker hit the crossbar. The Hoyas continued to press with a Maryland foul on the near sideline in the 68th minute resulting in a free kick. Baker's kick went on the ground and into the box where freshman Kailey Blain (Merrimack, N.H./Merrimakc) got a foot on the ball and it was saved by Balogun. The deflection came out to the left and a shot from Michaela Buonomo (Churchville, Pa./Council Rock North) was blocked.

The ball stayed in the Hoya end as the team took four corner kicks in a two-minute span that were batted away by Terrapin defenders or saved, including one from Wells that Balogun tipped over the crossbar. After a brief run back, Trujillo took possession on the far side of the box after a bad clearance and got off a shot from just outside the box that was saved.

In the first overtime, Maryland had the best opportunity, coming off a free kick in the 94th minute, but the ball was cleared out and the game headed to its second overtime.

The first half was evenly played with chances for both squads, Georgetown's best a shot from Trujillo that was blocked in the box in the second minute of the game. Maryland countered with a corner in the 12th minute that resulted in a shot that was blocked by Buonomo and a second that went high.

In the 22nd minute, Baker's throw-in was cleared out of the box, but when the rebound came out, she took a left-footed shot from about 30 yards out that the Maryland keeper nearly misjudged but saved just before it came in under the crossbar. There was another chance for the Hoyas in the 29th minute as a Baker corner bounced in the box and a header from Kelly D'Ambrisi (Trumbull, Conn./Lauralton Hall Academy) went just high.

Georgetown out-shot Maryland, 18-13, with seven shots on goal compared to two for the Terrapins. The Hoyas held a 12-7 advantage in corner kicks.

"We've played some of the best teams in the country this year," Nolan said. "We played Stanford, we played Notre Dame and we played a great West Virginia team, so we didn't have any fears about coming in here and playing Maryland. They're a great team, but I keep telling these guys they're a great team too."