The Point Park women’s soccer team can once again call themselves, “champions.”

For the third time in four years the Pioneers advanced to the Rivers States Conference (RSC) championship game.

After securing the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in the playoffs, Point Park beat the Asbury University Eagles on Nov. 9 in the semifinal game.

This was the third time Point Park went up against Asbury in the playoffs. In 2013, Asbury defeated Point Park in the conference finals. It also beat Point Park 3-2 in the 2014 semifinals.

The game started out slow with no goals recorded by halftime. The first half consisted of a few shots taken from each team, but none that secured a goal.

The Eagles came out in the second half with an improved defense that put them at an advantage. Ten minutes into the second half, Asbury’s Logan Hall scored the first goal leading the Eagles 1-0.

Both the Eagles and the Pioneers tried to make it to the net, but both teams played tremendous defense, keeping the score tight. It seemed as though Point Park was running out of time, but in the last ten minutes of the game the score took a turn.

As the Pioneers made their way down the field, Freshman Nikki Polens tied the game with a shot right in front of the net. Amidst chaos on the field, Polens was able to sneak in her shot to earn a goal for her team.

“I feel like I made my family proud tonight,” Polens said. “Being able to score for them just makes me feel so great inside. There are honestly no words to describe that feeling.”

Five minutes after Polens tied the game, Point Park senior Simone Keibler took a long shot 18 yards out and scored to give Point Park a 2-1 lead with less than five minutes left. Her shot sealed the win for Pioneers.

“I scored the goal, but our team really played together,” Keibler said. “That’s why we pulled through at the end. It wasn’t just an individual effort, it was a team one.”

This win advanced Point Park to face the Ohio Christian Trailblazers in the RSC championship. Ohio Christian defeated Point Park 2-1 in the regular season, but the Pioneers were more prepared to take them on than they were before.

“I am surrounded by an absolutely brilliant young group of ladies who are willing to run through a wall for each other and I think that is what is going to propel us through Ohio Christian who is going to be very hard to beat,” head coach Maggie Kuhn said after Wednesday’s win.

Point Park did defeat Ohio Christian Saturday in Grove City, Ohio to claim their second straight championship.

The game went into halftime with a 0-0 tie, but the Pioneers came out in the second half ready to win.

In the final 20 minutes of the game, Point Park struck first with a goal by Izzy Hunter. The Pioneers then stepped up their defense to keep Ohio Christian out of the net.

In the final minute of the game, Polens secured the win for the Pioneers with the second goal, totaling out to a 2-0 victory for Point Park.

The Pioneers outshot Ohio Christian 15-6 and freshman goalkeeper Rebecca Cohen recorded her sixth shutout of the season with three saves.

This win for the Pioneers advanced them even further to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round. Point Park will play second-ranked Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia, Ky. Saturday for the escond straight year in the opening round.