NORFOLK, Neb. -- The Northeast Community College men's and women's soccer teams are both headed to the national tournament after dramatic weekend wins.

After a scoreless first half on Saturday, the No. 7 Northeast women's team emerged with a 3-1 win at No. 14 Pratt Community College, giving the Hawks a trip to the national tournament for the third straight year.

The Hawks (19-2-1, ICCAC 9-1) and Beavers battled to a 0-0 score at the end of the first half. Northeast controlled possession of the ball for much of the first frame but were unable to push a goal across. Pratt picked up a red card with seven minutes remaining in the half and Northeast would play with an extra player throughout the rest of the showdown. 

The Beavers struck first in the second half and pulled out to a 1-0 lead in windy conditions.

Aidyn Woodall evened the battle with a goal assisted by Chelsea Dolbel to bring the game to 1-1. Jessie Eijbersen punched in an unassisted goal, followed by Woodall's second score to push Northeast to the victory. 

The Hawks will be one of 12 teams headed to the NJCAA DII Women’s Championship in Tucson, Arizona. 

“These girls have faced plenty of adversity this year and always battle through it,” Northeast women's assistant coach Lauren Hirsch said. “I had full confidence we would get the goal right back and keep rallying. Our mindset this season has been to play for something bigger than ourselves, and that was very much on the minds of the girls today. Their determination and grit is beyond admirable.” 

Hirsch said the program takes pride in reaching the national tournament, even after reaching the national round in the two previous seasons.

“What a treat to make three straight trips,” Hirsch said. “It’s amazing to see what the program has evolved into. The national tournament has been on our list of goals since day one, and I’m certain that they are hungry for more."

The Hawks will learn their seeding and opponent during the selection show on Monday.

Northeast's men's team had an even more dramatic entry into the national field.

The No. 8 Hawks also traveled to Pratt, defeating the No. 19 Beavers in a penalty kick shootout.

Northeast went down 1-0 on a Gabriel Dias Juliani first-half goal. The Hawks responded midway through the second half, however, with a Jeevan Purewal penalty kick.

An extra twenty minutes was played in overtime and a winner still could not be decided, with Northeast outlasting the Beavers 3-2 in the game-deciding shootout.

The Hawks will play next week in Arizona, with their seeding and opponent yet to be decided.