PHILADELPHIA – One goal, one goal. Two goals, two goals. Three goals, three goals. Four goals, three goals.

In the simple and exciting arithmetic of the penalty shootout, the winner takes all. It was a fittingly tense, if disappointingly curt, way to end a matchup that had ground on for 110 minutes. In the end the Georgetown men’s soccer team found the goal one extra time, and that was all they needed to survive.

After finishing two overtimes still locked in a 1-1 tie, Georgetown and Villanova faced off in the penalty box. The first hiccups came on the second shots when sophomore forward Danny cAnally shot left of the goal. He slunk back to midfield, but received a reprieve when his counterpart from Villanova bounced the ball off the post. The Hoyas took advantage of their second life, netting the last three shots. When it came time for the Wildcats to extend the spectacle, senior defender Chris Edgar blasted the ball far over the crossbar to end the shootout 4-3 in Georgetown’s favor.

“It obviously couldn’t get closer than that and it was not a pretty game by any stretch of the imagination,” Tabatznik said.

Despite a number of close calls on a blustery and cool Saturday in suburban Philadelphia, Georgetown overcame the drama to advance to a semifinal showdown against No. 21 Seton Hall next Friday in the Big East semifinals. After a year’s absence from the tournament, the Hoyas have found themselves only one win away from their fourth tournament final.

“We certainly had a great second half. I thought we deserved to win the game outright in the second half.” Tabatznik said. “We battled hard, we were very tired, and the guys battled harder.”

The grudge match developed as fourth-seeded Villanova (7-5-6, 5-3-3) and fifth-seeded Georgetown (11-7-2, 5-4-2) squared off for the second time this year. The teams faced off on North Kehoe Field three weeks earlier on Oct. 16 with the Wildcats sneaking by with a 2-1 decision, despite the Hoyas determined second-half effort to take the game.

While Villanova may have held the home-field advantage, Philadelphia has been a hotbed of Hoya recruiting in the past few years. Five players currently hail from the area and a large contingent of Georgetown supporters were present for the contest.

The heavy fan support may have come in handy throughout a nerve-wracking game for both sides. Villanova had a few chances in the opening minutes, including a penalty kick off a hand ball. Sophomore goalkeeper Andrew Keszler saved the day for Georgetown in the 17th minute while rehearsing for later, deflecting the ball to the side and keeping the score locked at zero. Each side had their chances, but the first half finished without a goal in the net.

“The guys stepped up to the plate. Obviously Andrew Keszler made the save in regulation. That’s what won the game for us,” Tabatznik said.

The Hoyas turned in a tighter performance in the second half, producing more possessions and opportunities in the opponent’s third than the one shot on goal of the first half. Persistence and focus paid off when senior forward Brent Plumely shook off a defender and nailed the bottom corner of the goal for the first score in the 70th minute. The Wildcats returned the favor in the 79th minute when freshman midfielder Dan DeMasters put the ball past Keszler to even the game.

“Our guy left his man . If you leave your man he’s wide open, if you stay there they still got to do something,” Tabatznik said. “That shouldn’t have happened.”

The game would remain in a 1-1 stalemate for the remainder of regulation. While both teams hoped a quick goal might come in the two 10-minute overtime periods, neither side was able to come up with the right play despite some decent shots. As the crowd’s anxiety grew, the clock ticked away and no one could produce a game winner. Although officially scored as a tie, penalty kicks would send Georgetown to the next round as Villanova was left to hope for a College Cup birth to prolong its season.

“We wanted to win this game in overtime. The things that were successful for us were getting early balls forward,” Tabatznik said. “It was really a game where it was going to be winning on a mistake or a restart.”

Seton Hall (11-6-2, 6-5-0) provided Georgetown with its biggest victory this season, a 4-0 trouncing in the teams’ Big East closer. Both teams had to work to make the semifinals: Seton Hall vanquished No. 4 Notre Dame, the top seed in the tournament, 8-7 in penalty kicks after a 0-0 tie. While Seton Hall tumbled down to eighth place in the standings after its season-ending loss, the Pirates have redeemed themselves with their biggest win this year against the Fighting Irish. The Hoyas have surged late in the season, posting victories in their last three games and remaining unbeaten in their last five matchups.

The two sides will face off on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J., the site of this year’s Big East championship.

“I think that little extra fight that we’ve had to have over the past couple games will pay dividends on Friday night,” Tabatznik said.