Tulsa defeated Hawai'i, 2-1, in penalty kicks after playing to a 1-1 tie through regulation time and two 10-minute overtime periods, in a Western Athletic Conference quarterfinal match last night at Waipi'o Peninsula Soccer Stadium.

Tulsa outscored Hawai'i, 4-3, in the first penalty kicks tie breaker to be played in WAC tournament history.

Hawai'i lost Natasha Kai with about five minutes left in regulation, when the junior forward suffered a bruised right shoulder following a collision with a Tulsa player. Kai, who leads the team with 12 goals, did not return.

"We had a hard season and pulled ourselves out of that," Kai said. "It's like a knife through our hearts."

Tulsa (8-9-3), the fifth seed, plays top-seeded Southern Methodist (13-3-3) at 7:30 tonight. Fourth-seeded Hawai'i (12-7-2) was eliminated.

"I feel bad for the kids," said UH coach Pinsoom Tenzing, whose team led 1-0 at the half. "It has been a traumatic experience for them. They thought they had the game in the bag, but you've got to defend until the end."

Third-seeded UTEP (13-4-1) advanced to play No. 2 Rice (13-3-3) at 5 p.m. in today's other semifinal. The Miners beat No. 6 Fresno State, 3-2, in overtime yesterday.

SMU and Rice received byes into the semifinals. The winner of the WAC tournament earns an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.

"It's a huge disappointment," said Joelle Sugai, Hawai'i all-WAC senior midfielder and co-captain. "The game is over though, and we can't do anything about it."

Freshman forward Koren Takeyama scored Hawai'i's lone goal in regulation time after receiving a pass from forward Robyn deHay, who dribbled past several defenders before flicking a pass to Takeyama down the right side.

Takeyama's shot appeared to be heading into either the far left side of the goal or wide left, but Tulsa's Susan Day slid into the ball and knocked it into the goal, ensuring the score for the Rainbow Wahine.

At the 89:23 mark, Tulsa midfielder Carrie Schnarre made a long run down the right side of the field and crossed the ball, which curled toward the goal and over goalkeeper Erin Chow's hands to tie the score.

"I think it gave us everything in overtime," Tulsa coach Rena Richardson said. "We were tired, we were dead, but that goal made everything."

Tulsa's Katie Ward, Ashley Rickner, Jamie German and Day made their penalty kicks.

Hawai'i's Sugai, senior co-captain Krystalynn Ontai and junior Seline Williams made their kicks.

"I'm upset, but not for myself," Ontai said. "I really wanted it for the younger kids. I want them to know they're a good team and they belong in the (NCAA) tournament."

Texas-El Paso 3, Fresno State 2 (OT)

UTEP forward Christine McCartney scored eight minutes, 19 seconds into the first overtime as the Miners eliminated the Bulldogs from the tournament.

McCartney scored when a clear by Fresno State goalkeeper Jeannette Paine bounced off of UTEP midfielder Cara Nordin, deflecting to McCartney, who was near the edge of the penalty box with an open goal in front of her.

The game started slowly, with 40 minutes of scoreless soccer, but within two minutes, both teams scored.

Fresno State midfielder Kortney Lewis scored on a penalty kick in the 41st minute after forward Mercedes Splettstoesser was taken down in the penalty box.

UTEP answered the next minute on a goal by Nordin. Midfielder Kristin Wernimont assisted on the goal, off a deflection from an indirect kick.

Fresno State forward Antonea Lugo scored off an assist from midfielder Mary Trigg in the 54th minute to put the Bulldogs up, 2-1.

But forward Jami Tullius evened the score four minutes later, on an assist from midfielder Kia Sams.