Mendota’s Gabbi Nanez gives the ball a header in front of Plano’s Jennifer Arriola during the opening round of the regional soccer tournament on May 5 at the MHS field. (Reporter photo)

MENDOTA – The Mendota Lady Trojans lived to play another day when they scored a thrilling 2-1 victory over Plano in the quarterfinals of the Hinckley-Big Rock Class 1A Girls’ Regional Soccer Tournament on May 5 at the MHS field.

Plano opened the scoring when Aimee Hild used a strong tailwind to drill home a goal from nearly 40 years out at the 30:01 mark.

Plano carried that 1-0 lead into halftime, and still maintained the advantage more than halfway through the second half when Mendota finally found the back of the net. Gillian Sutton booted a direct kick that bounced off the right goal pipe and then ricocheted off the left pipe to the direction of Carrie Arteaga. Arteaga had a clear shot at the goal and she made it count to tie the score at the 64:22 mark.

The game remained tied after regulation and went to two 10-minute overtime periods. Neither team scored in overtime, so the final decision would be made with penalty kicks.

Each team had five chances, and each team made four kicks. Gabbi Nanez, Erika Hernandez, Madison Beane and Sutton all had successful kicks for the Lady Trojans.

In the second set of penalty kicks, Mendota goalie Mia Artman stopped two Plano attempts, while Esmeralda Perez booted home the game-winner on Mendota’s second attempt.

Mendota advanced to the semifinal-round where it was scheduled to play fellow Big Northern Conference member Stillman Valley on Tuesday at Hinckley. The other semifinal contest had Princeton facing Hinckley-Big Rock. The regional championship will be at 6 p.m. Friday, May 12.