Otago University coach Darren Hart hopes his team will capitalise on the confidence it has developed after its longest run in the Chatham Cup.
The students did everything they could to maintain the fairy tale but fell on penalties to North Shore United in the quarterfinal at Allen Hill Stadium in Auckland on Saturday.
It was 2-2 after 90 minutes and neither side could score in extra time, so it went to spot kicks.
Both teams missed one of their first five and converted their first in sudden death, but University then had a penalty saved.
"It’s always a bit brutal to get knocked out on penalties," Hart said.
"There were a lot of really good penalties, too. But on our last one, their goalie — who was an absolutely massive guy — sort of stuck his leg out and managed to save it."
University has hit sparkling form at this point of the season, beginning the new-look South Island league with two wins, and reaching the final eight of the Chatham Cup for the first time in the club’s history.
Hart hoped the students, while frustrated not to be eyeing a cup semifinal, would use the experience to their advantage for the rest of the season.
"Everyone’s pretty gutted but I think they’ll look back on this and be really proud of what they’ve achieved.
"I don’t think a lot of people gave us a chance but we came up here and went toe-to-toe with a big northern club, and I think that says a lot.
"Our confidence has definitely grown and hopefully we take that into the rest of our games in the league."
Hart said the Otago players, as expected, gave away some size and physicality, and as a result they struggled to get into the game in the first 25 minutes.
North Shore opened the scoring after 15 minutes when Horace James latched on to a long ball, bullied his way through the defence and cracked home a low finish.
University competed well later in the first half but slumped to 2-0 just before the break when North Shore counter-attacked and Marko Memedovic fired in a volley.
To Hart’s delight, the students came roaring back in the second half, scoring through Aidan Barbour-Ryan then, with five minutes remaining, Tim O’Farrell.
Both teams struggled for energy in extra time, and penalties always looked likely.
There was a bizarre moment in the game when North Shore had a player sent off for a yellow card, only to be recalled five minutes later after the officials decided to reverse the card.
In other quarterfinals, Cashmere Technical thumped Hamilton Wanderers 4-0, Western Suburbs beat Melville United 1-0, and Miramar Rangers beat Auckland City 2-0. The semifinal draw is made tomorrow.