After 110 minutes of scoreless play, Birmingham-Southern's Catherine Spiker converted the deciding penalty kick in a shootout to deny High Point its second-straight Big South women's soccer title and lift BSC to a 5-3 penalty-kick shootout win in the finals of the 2004 Big South Tournament Saturday night at Blackbaud Stadium in Charleston, S.C.

The official score will go down as 0-0. The victory gives BSC its first Big South crown in any sport, and the Conference's automatic bid to the 2004 NCAA Women's Soccer Championship.

High Point held a 20-10 advantage in shots and a 6-1 edge in shots-on-goal, but neither group of Panthers was able to find the net until the deciding shootout.

Carolyn Bader, Emily Lanham and Jen Evans were named to the All-Tournament team.

"We had our opportunities," High Point head coach Tracie Foels said. "Overall, we did outplay them, but the first 15 minutes were difficult for us. We got things together, but couldn't finish.

"The first two games in the tournament [3-0 and 3-1 wins over Liberty and UNC Asheville, respectively], we turned those opportunities into goals. We couldn't do that tonight."

High Point had a 6-4 advantage in shots in the first half and a 7-3 edge in the second. HPU out-shot BSC 7-3 in the two 10-minute overtime periods, but neither team was able to find the net, so the match went to penalty kicks to decide a winner.

Jordan Spencer opened the shootout with a successful blast past HPU keeper Hannah Nail to put Birmingham-Southern ahead 1-0. After Bader's attempt hit the right post, BSC's Megan Black and High Point's Jinene Enders each converted their shots to keep the BSC lead at 2-1.

Birmingham-Southern's Brittney Jones scored to make it 3-1, but HPU's Ryan Hays beat BSC keeper Andria Gray to pull High Point within 3-2. And when BSC's Mandy Woods scored to make it 4-2, High Point had to hope for two successful tries and a stop on the defensive end.

Evans kept HPU alive with a successful shot to pull within 4-3, but Spiker clinched the shootout for BSC when her shot hit the back of the net to send the Panthers of the Alabama variety to the NCAA Tournament.

It was the second time in two seasons that High Point needed a shootout to decide a Big South Tournament final. The Panthers outlasted UNC Asheville in the finals of the 2003 event at Albion Millis Stadium and advanced to face eventual national-champ North Carolina.

"I'm definitely proud of the girls," Foels said. "This was a great way to finish the season. They've got a lot to be happy about, even though obviously nobody's happy right now."