CHICAGO — Another electrifying postseason comeback propelled the St. Thomas men’s soccer team to a double overtime 2-1 win over Benedictine University on Saturday afternoon and its first ever appearance in the NCAA tournament Elite Eight.

For the second time in three playoff games, the eighth-ranked Tommies trailed 1-0 with three minutes remaining in the match. Luckily for St. Thomas fans, the team saved some of its best play for the end of the game.

In desperate need of a goal, the Tommies adopted a more direct style of play. It paid off in the 87th minute, as a long ball sent into the penalty area by defender Evan Potter was met by the head of Christian Elliehausen to tie the match.

“The conditions were really tough,” said defender Mark Heydt. “We knew that if we put it in a dangerous spot that anything could happen. It wasn’t how we pictured (scoring) when we went into the game at the very start, but we knew with 20 minutes left that that’s what we were going to have to do.”

The goal gave the Tommies a huge boost, and they dominated the first overtime period despite not scoring a goal.

In the first minute of the second overtime, a cross by Elliehausen was put in the back of the net by Tyler Oliver to send the Tommies to the quarterfinals.

“We knew as soon as we got one that we could go out and get a second,” Heydt said. “They were a great team, but they didn’t really try to come out and score a second on us. They were sitting back begging us to pressure them.”

For much of the match, the Eagles were in control. St. Thomas struggled to have any meaningful possession, while Benedictine looked dangerous in attack. However, the Tommie defense showed why it is one of the best in the nation, holding its opponent to one goal.

That goal came in the 36th minute, when Tommie goalkeeper Aidan Hogan let a rebound slip away after making a diving save. Benedictine’s Francisco Delgado made St. Thomas pay by pounding it into the net.

“The defense had a few mental breakdowns, but overall we did a pretty good job, I thought,” Heydt said.

Benedictine featured one of the top strikers in the country. Nick Kapetanos bagged 27 goals this year, but the Tommies held him quiet throughout the match. He registered just two shots.

St. Thomas (19-1-3) will face No. 25-ranked Redlands (18-5-1) at 1 p.m. on Sunday with a trip to the Final Four on the line. Redlands beat top-ranked and previously undefeated Chicago 3-2 in their Sweet 16 match Saturday.

“We don’t really know anything about Redlands,” Heydt said. “We know that if we come out and play our style, we should be punching our ticket to the Final Four after the game.”

Spencer Flaten can be reached at flat6148@stthomas.edu