CENTRALIA, Ill. – No. 5 seeded Parkland women's soccer advanced to the Region 24 semifinal with a 4-2 win over No. 4 seed Kaskaskia on Thursday. Tied 2-2 at the half, the Cobras scored twice in the second period to advance to Saturday's semifinal match against No. 1 seed Lewis & Clark in Godfrey, Illinois. Sophomore forward Ali Hosey led the scoring with two goals.

"There were some tense moments early in the game," said head coach Tim Notz. "The score was 2-2 after six minutes, so the girls had to work through some nerves and play with more composure. Kaskaskia had us playing their game for a good portion of the first half. The game was very direct, and a lot of back and forth, which played to their strengths. After we regrouped at halftime, we controlled play and possessed better through the middle of the field and scored two well-deserved goals. We're very proud of the adjustments the girls made in the second half. We're looking forward to Saturday!"

Avenging a 3-2 defeat against Kaskaskia from earlier this season, Parkland shutout the Blue Angels for the final 85 minutes of the half behind saves from sophomore goalie Kierra Dahlgren. Tied 2-2 at the break, Mylena Do Prado scored the game-winning goal in the 61^st minute.

An explosive start offensively for both sides, the Cobras and Blue Angels combined for four of the match's six goals in the opening five minutes of action. The two sides traded blows with Kaskaskia taking a 1-0 lead a minute into the match before Hosey scored her first goal of the match to level the score, 1-1, in the second minute. The home team quickly regained the lead, 2-1, in the third minute of play only to have the Cobras tie the match in the fifth minute on a goal from sophomore Gabriela Schuster.

Following the four-goal explosion, the two sides steadied their defenses for the remainder of the half, keeping the match tied into the half.

After the deadlock continued for the first seven minutes of the second half, freshman midfielder Mylena Do Prado delivered the decisive blow with a go-ahead goal in the 52^nd minute. Holding its first lead of the match, Parkland maintained the one-goal advantage for 16 more minutes before Hosey knocked home her second goal of the day to pad the lead, 4-2.

Up next, Parkland will look to continue its run in the Region 24 Tournament when they face top-seed and tournament host Lewis & Clark on Saturday, October 27, at 12 p.m. central time. The Trailblazers edged the Cobras, 2-1, back on September 13 in Champaign.