This wasn't supposed to be their year—but don't tell that to the men's soccer team.

After two heroic performances by goalkeeper Michael Madigan '03 in penalty shootouts this weekend, Macalester has advanced to the national quarterfinals for only the second time in school history.

Facing 1–0 halftime deficits in both games, the resilient Scots mounted two gritty comebacks to keep their tournament dream alive. In Saturday's regional semifinal game, the Scots laid siege to Nebraska Wesleyan's goal for the entire second half before a free-kick from Nathan Knox '04 was deflected into the net with just three minutes remaining. The next day, a goal from Scott Beaver '06 in the 57th minute tied the game at 1–1 against Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Madigan made three saves in Macalester's 3–2 shootout win over Nebraska Wesleyan. Against Whitewater, Madigan stopped two more penalties as the Scots avenged their 3–0 loss to the Warhawks on Oct. 27 with a 3–1 shootout win.

"Right now, I'm just on a really good run," Madigan said. "I'm really confident. I've had a lot of experience facing penalties, and I've faced enough that I know what to look for."

Macalester had been eliminated from the national championship tournament on penalties in their last three appearances.

The Scots hope to continue their improbable run in San Antonio this Sunday when they meet number one-ranked Trinity.

After receiving a first-round bye, Macalester started tournament play in the second round against Nebraska Wesleyan at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. Despite a tentative start, soon after kick-off it was Macalester who controlled the run of play.

However, as has been one of their few weaknesses this season, the Scots struggled to finish scoring opportunities. Within minutes of entering the game after 20 minutes, forward Stefan Doerge connected on two crosses from left midfielder Robb Swick '05 but put both shots over the bar. At the 35-minute mark, Doerge stabbed at a loose ball in the box but was denied by Prairie Wolves keeper Jason Thurman.

Despite dominating possession and creating several threatening chances, the game took a wrong turn for the Scots in the 41st minute. On one of their few forays into the Macalester defense, Nebraska Wesleyan won a free kick 35 yards from goal. Joe Gohr delivered a perfect ball to Michael Longe, who timed his run to beat the Scots' offside trap. Madigan left his line to cut down the angle but had no chance as Longe headed the oncoming cross into the right side-netting to give the PrairieWolves an unexpected 1–0 lead.

Macalester bounced right back from the setback and nearly leveled the score at the end of the half, but a flick-on header from Patrick Kelly '05 off a free-kick floated just over Thurman's crossbar.

In the second half, Nebraska Wesleyan played with nearly every man behind the ball as they defended their lead. Macalester kept the Prairie Wolves' defense under great pressure but struggled to produce any clear-cut scoring chances throughout much of the half. The Scots won corner after corner yet wasted many opportunities with poor crosses.

As Macalester pushed more players forward, each failed chance on offense led to counterattacking opportunities for the Prairie Wolves. In the 67th minute, Gohr beat the Macalester defense on the break to go one-on-one against Madigan, but the senior keeper darted off his line and made the save to keep his team in the game.

With 20 minutes left, six-time MIAC Coach of the Year John Leaney made several tactical changes to his side that turned the game around. Knox, who was playing in his usual position behind the two strikers, was moved up as a third forward and skillful winger Eric Nordstrom '05, who started the game on the bench because of an injury, entered the game as a substitute. Sparked by these moves, the Scots began to press forward with more purpose.

Knox and Nordstrom, two of the Scots' craftiest dribblers, gave the Prairie Wolves defenders fits, winning several free-kicks in dangerous spots in the final minutes of regulation time. In the 78th minute, Knox fired a free-kick past the Nebraska Wesleyan wall but the shot was gathered comfortably by Thurman.

Knox was then brought down 25 yards from goal with five minutes left, but the ensuing curling free-kick from Andrew Wissler '06 was saved brilliantly by Thurman.

Two minutes later, however, the Scots finally found the net after coming so close all game long. Forward Brendan Viele '05 was taken down at the edge of the box, and Knox blasted a low free-kick to the left of the wall. The shot struck a defender and ricocheted past a helpless Thurman as the Scots equalized in a most dramatic fashion.

As the game headed into penalty kicks, the game appeared to be a carbon-copy of last year's regional semifinal game against Whitworth—but this time, there would be no controversial call by the referee to negate a great effort by Madigan. The senior rose to the occasion, making great saves on the first two penalties he faced. However, after Swick scored on Macalester's first penalty, the shots from Viele and Wissler were stopped by Thurman to keep the score 1–1 after three rounds.

Madigan then made a great save to his left before defender Michael Dannenberg '05 coolly finished his kick to retake the lead for Macalester, 2–1. Madigan almost made an incredible save on a rocket from Longe to win the shootout, but the ball bounced off the crossbar and fell behind the goal line. This left Knox—who had missed a pivotal free-kick against Whitworth the year before—with a chance to win the game from the spot. This time, however, the New Zealander tucked his shot inside the right post to keep the Scots' playoff dream alive.

The next day, the Scots faced Wisconsin-Whitewater, who had defeated Luther 3–2 in double-overtime on Saturday.

The match kicked off to a frantic pace as the two fatigued sides struggled to establish any rhythm on offense.

The Scots started to break down late in the half after they received several yellow cards. On one stoppage, Kelly, Viele and Leaney were all booked for dissent to bring the Scots' card total to five. After this hectic sequence, the Scots seemed to lose focus. Six minutes before halftime, the Scots' defense broke down as Whitewater center back Jon Poppen scored from a powerful header off of a Marc McRoberts free kick to give the Warhawks a 1–0 lead. As the halftime whistle sounded, Whitewater left the field with all of the momentum while a confused Macalester team tried to figure out how to get back into the game.

The Scots regrouped during the break and started the second half playing with much better composure. Their crisp short passing frustrated the defense, and in the 55th minute, Whitewater received their first yellow card following Tim Hood's reckless challenge on Kelly.

In the 57th minute, sweeper Stu Peacock '05 came forward on a corner and shot Wissler's cross into traffic. The ball found the head of Beaver, who redirected it past keeper Dave Madsen to tie the score at 1–1.

With both teams back on equal footing, the match became a fiercely and evenly contested battle. Whitewater answered right back with a great chance of their own as a shot was fired in from 30 yards out, but Madigan sprang to his right to make an exceptional save.

Both teams had great chances to score the golden goal in overtime but the keepers were well up to the task. Early in the first half, Warhawks right-back Bob Moelter launched a twisting drive with the outside of his right foot from 35 yards out. The ball started for the left-hand upper corner before tailing back across the goal. Madigan kept his cool, stayed with the wild shot and parried it over the bar.

When the teams switched sides, it was Macalester who threatened to score the game-winner only to see Madsen make a superlative save. A diagonal through-ball from Viele was weighted perfectly to meet the run of Kelly. Kelly, who had been battling against injuries since the Nebraska Wesleyan game, tried to shoot across the oncoming Madsen, but the Whitewater keeper lept to his right and pushed the ball away.

In the shootout, the Scots were carried by an encore performance of the Michael Madigan show. The All-MIAC keeper seemed to be one step ahead of the shooters and easily blocked a shot to his left to start the shootout. For the Scots, Swick scored off the bar in the top-right corner, a perfect combination of velocity and accuracy to give the Scots an early 1-0 lead.

Whitewater had watched the shootout between Macalester and Nebraska Wesleyan while warming up for their match against Luther and seemed to be intimidated by Madigan's presence. After Madigan stopped the first shot, the Warhawks shooters seemed to be rattled. Poppen, whose clinical finish gave his team the lead at halftime, fired his attempt well over the bar. Wissler nestled his shot into the back of the net to give Macalester a commanding 2–0 lead.

However, Whitewater answered with a goal of their own, and Viele's spot-kick woes continued as he hit a weak shot that was gathered by Madsen. But once again, Madigan stepped up to make the big save, guessing correctly to his right and giving Dannenberg a chance to win it with his kick. Dannenberg made no mistake, sending Madsen the wrong way to win the regional championship and Macalester to the elite eight.

After opening the season with disappointing losses to Muhlenberg and Alvernia and starting conference play with a dire 0–0 draw with St. Thomas, few could have guessed the Macalester would have advanced this far—but the young team has risen to the occasion all season. "The younger guys are stepping up, it's great," Madigan said.

Playing at Trinity, the nation's only undefeated team, is expected to be a daunting task for the underdog Scots.

"Because so little is really expected from us, it gives us more confidence," Madigan said. "We're just going to go down there and do the job. As we've seen, anything is possible."