MANKATO, Minn. – Unscored upon since September, the Minot State defense continued to dominate, earning the Beavers a shot at the NSIC Championship.

Goalie Maddie Kindred turned in a career-high 11 saves, leading the way for the Beavers who played to their sixth scoreless draw on Friday in the NSIC semifinals against NSIC regular-season champion Minnesota State, Mankato, on the Mavericks home turf.

Scoreless after regulation and two 10-minute overtime halves, the game went to a penalty-kick shootout to decide who would advance to the NSIC Championship game Sunday at 1 p.m. with the Beavers prevailing, 4-3.

Kindred added three saves in the shootout, while Chloe Allan, Daisy de Boer, and Jordan Tenpas each scored before Sofia Galvez ended it with the Beavers' fourth shootout goal, sending Minot State (9-2-9 overall) into the championship game Sunday against Bemidji State, who beat Augustana 2-0 in Friday's other semifinal.

"It was a great match," Minot State coach TJ Perez said. "Amazing defensive effort from the whole team.

"Feels amazing to be in this position, and this team deserves it," Perez added.

The shutout was the 10^th in a row for Minot State which has not allowed a goal since a 2-1 win at Northern State on Sept. 30. The shutout was also the 14^th this season for Kindred, who leads the nation in total shutouts this fall.

Now it is a battle of the Beavers for the NSIC title on Sunday, and an automatic berth to the NCAA National Tournament. The two teams played to a scoreless draw back on Oct. 23 in their previous meeting this season.

The Minot State soccer team last advanced to the NCAA National Tournament back in 2016.