---Cara Alldred (18) and Kendall Day (5) celebrate Alldred's goal in the second half. The senior ended the year with five goals.

By Mike Anderson, NKU Sports Information

WILDER, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University women’s soccer team’s goal of possibly winning a seventh Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament championship ended Sunday afternoon with a 3-2 loss in the first round to Missouri-St. Louis.

Kendall Day put NKU (12-6) on the board early by converting her sixth goal of the season on a lob shot after Hope Zinser’s free kick in the seventh minute to give the fourth-seeded Norse a 1-0 advantage.

Lynn Cerny used a diving header from eight yards out to bring Missouri-St. Louis even at 1-all in the 20th minute. Anne Nesbit made it a 2-1 Triton lead when she followed up in the 35th minute with a header goal of her own.

Missouri-St. Louis continued to control play in the second half until a Lauren Franzen throw-in play became interesting when Ashley Warndorf flicked the ball behind herself, and Cara Alldred headed the ball home for her fifth marker of the season, tying the score at 2-all.

It was a broken play that sealed victory for the Tritons, as NKU goalkeeper Alayna Fontaine saved Tara Reitz’s initial shot. The rebound pushed across to Nesbit, who notched her second goal of the game in the 82nd minute to give Missouri-St. Louis a 3-2 advantage.

Fontaine made eight saves for the Norse. Courtney Carmody recorded the win in net for the Tritons (11-7-2) with two saves.

NKU had beaten Missouri-St. Louis 15 consecutive times going into Sunday’s game, and the Tritons had not beaten the Norse since 1997. NKU owns a 15-2 lead in the all-time series with Missouri-St. Louis.

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