The final penalty kick hit the back of the net, beyond the outstretched arms of senior goalkeeper Nick Tannenbaum in the upper left corner. Just like that, the No. 23 Washington University men’s soccer team’s season came to an abrupt end, for the second year in a row.

After 110 minutes of play and 10 penalty kicks Saturday, the Greencastle, Ind. scoreboard read 2-2, with just a 4-3 shootout advantage propelling No. 25 University of Redlands to the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament and sending Wash. U. home, again.

The outcome was made harsher by the reality that the Bears had victory within their grasp twice. With a 2-0 lead late in the second half, the nervous excitement among the seemingly pro-Wash. U. crowd was palpable. The lead vanished, and the crowd’s energy died down, only to simmer again as the Red and Green built a 2-0 shootout lead during penalty kicks. Minutes later, fans and players alike were left in silence, stunned by a script they both had seen unfold just a year earlier.

Many of the same faces had experienced a crushing 8-7 shootout season ender to DePauw University last year in the second round of the tournament.

This time around, Wash. U. and Redlands were deadlocked in a scoreless tie through halftime. Graduate student midfielder Jack West had an early look in the third minute, but his shot on his weak side was saved by the Redlands goalie. It was the only shot on goal the Bears were able to get off in the first half.

The Bears finally broke the ice in the 64th minute, when sophomore midfielder Kyle Perez chose a good time to net his first goal of the season off a pass from senior back Kevin Goon.

Goon played the facilitator role again moments later, this time to a more heralded scorer. He snuck a pass to sophomore forward Ryan Sproule, who fired into the back of the net for his team-leading seventh score. No other Bear had more than four this season.

According to head coach Joe Clarke, the scores were just a matter of time. The offense was clicking, without any results to show for it.

“We were getting in dangerous positions probably after the first 10 minutes [or] 15 minutes of the game,” Clarke said. “In the first half, we didn’t score, but we were getting in great positions, and we were just unlucky that we hadn’t scored a goal.”

With just over 15 minutes remaining in regulation, the Bears—who had allowed multiple goals in a game just once this season, on Oct. 7 at No. 7 Rochester University—were sitting pretty. That’s when the lead fell apart.

In the 75th minute, Redlands got one goal back on a junior Casey Chubbfertal header off an assist from senior Isaac Bogart. Fast-forward 134 seconds, and you might’ve thought you were having a case of deja vu as Redlands executed the same exact play to perfection. Bogart, Chubbfertal, header, goal, 2-2. In an instant, the comfortable lead the Bears had built evaporated.

Clarke noticed a shift in the Redlands attack that may have led to the Bulldogs ultimately knotting it up. After Wash. U. went up 2-0, Redlands took a more aggressive approach and the team used superior size to their advantage.

“Redlands wasn’t generating much, and then, that continued until we got those two goals,” Clarke said. “Then they started throwing everything forward and did a good job getting in situations to get throw-ins and sending a million bodies and firing that ball 50 yards in the air and then challenging—we’re not the biggest team. And they ended up having a couple very, very good head ball goals by their No. 12 to tie the game up.”

Credit, though, goes to the Red and Green defense for not losing focus after those heart-wrenching three minutes. Redlands had a chance for the trifecta just two minutes after the equalizer, but Tannenbaum made a diving stop to shift some momentum back to the Wash. U. sideline. The game returned to its first-half pace for the remainder of regulation and overtime to send the Bears to another decisive shootout.

In the shootout, Wash. U. quickly built its second 2-0 lead of the night. Junior back Chris Rieger started things off with an easy make. Redlands then missed its first attempt, and Perez added another for the Bears.

But a trio of Redlands conversions, coupled with the Bears splitting their next two attempts, set up a showdown at 3-3. Senior back Noah Lieberman’s shot carried wide right, setting up a chance for Redlands to end the match with one kick from freshman Keoni Yates. And that’s exactly what Yates did, burying the game-winner to bring Wash. U.’s season to a screeching halt.

For the Bears, it is an unsatisfying end to what was a promising season. After a dominant September, the Red and Green stumbled through October, before battling to a clutch 0-0 tie against No. 1 University of Chicago to force the way into a playoff spot. At various moments Saturday, it looked like that run could have pushed on past this weekend—until it didn’t.

It’s also a tough pill to swallow for a team so dependent on its senior class, a group that had a very successful four-year run, averaging 10 wins per season and reaching two NCAA tournaments. The Bears will have 12 members departing next fall and will require strong improvements from incumbents to regroup for 2017.

After playing the final game of his Wash. U. career, graduate student midfielder Ike Witte looked back on this year’s squad fondly.

“This has been the best team that I’ve played with—and the best group of guys,” Witte said in a postgame press conference. “We got unlucky a decent amount this year…when we play our game, we can handle anyone, and it was an honor to play with them.”