LOUISVILLE, Ky. — An extraordinary goal propelled the Bellarmine University women's soccer team into the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament semifinals.

Unfortunately, an equally jaw-dropping goal eliminated the Knights.

Missouri St. Louis' Cassie McFadden sank a shot from approximately 40 yards out in the second half as the fourth-seeded Tritons pulled out a 2-1 victory over top-seeded and 13th-ranked Bellarmine on Friday at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium.

"It was a tough one tonight," BU Coach Chris Tinius said. "It wasn't one of our best performances, but we certainly didn't play bad."

Missouri-St. Louis (12-3-4) will meet second-seeded Truman State — which defeated third-seeded Quincy in a shootout — in Sunday's championship game. Meanwhile, GLVC regular season champion Bellarmine (16-2-2) will await word on Monday evening from the Division II NCAA Tournament selection committee.

"We'll regroup," Tinius said. "There's more soccer for us to play. The last time we had this feeling (falling last season in the GLVC Tournament quarterfinals), we reacted very well to it and came out and played great the next time out (in the NCAA Tournament). We'll try and do the same whenever and wherever we play next."

Bellarmine and Missouri-St. Louis tied 2-2 in the regular season after combining for all four goals in the first half. The action was fast and furious from the get-go on Friday as well, as the Tritons scored in the fifth minute and the Knights answered in the 10th.

However, from a scoring standpoint, things settled down from there until the second half. With a stiff wind at her back, McFadden unleashed a shot in the 71st minute not far from midfield. The ball zoomed just inside the crossbar and into the top right corner of the net as the Tritons grabbed a 2-1 lead. The execution was reminiscent of junior forward Mary Beth Gorham's goal in the Knights' 2-1 victory in double overtime over McKendree in the GLVC Tournament quarterfinals.

"Their second goal was just a great strike," Tinius said. "It was similar to Mary Beth's where you're not going to keep that ball from the back of the net."

After that, Missouri-St. Louis goalkeeper Megan Ohm made a tremendous save on a well-struck shot by junior midfielder Lauren Holder. In the first half, Ohm did the same on an attempt rifled by Gorham.

Missouri-St. Louis gained an early lead less than five minutes into the match when McKayla Harder headed in a long cross from Jaylon Griffin. It was Harder's 10th goal of the season.

It didn't take long for Bellarmine to respond. Roughly five minutes later, Gorham made a run down the right side of the box and crossed to senior forward Darcy Egan, who managed to poke the ball into the net in traffic in front of the goal. It was Egan's fifth goal of the season and Gorham's seventh assist.

Missouri-St. Louis totaled 14 shots, while Bellarmine had 12. The Tritons collected seven shots on goal, and the Knights had four.

"I thought we worked hard physically and had an energy about us, but in some ways I thought we were a little too excited to play and not necessarily as focused on what we needed to do as far as the game plan," Tinius said. "But I thought our effort was good, and the rest is on me. I have to figure out a way to get them settled in that situation."

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