Kristi Hofmeyer (center) reacts after scoring the first goal Saturday.
Photo gallery |
Box score
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. -
Laura Painter generated the offense with a pair of perfectly placed corner kicks Saturday night as Northern Kentucky University posted a 2-1 win against Missouri-St. Louis in the first round of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament.
NKU (15-1-1), the top seed in the GLVC Tournament and ranked No. 9 nationally in the NCAA Division II poll, will play host to the semifinals and championship contest next week. Missouri-St. Louis finished the season with a 9-9 record after falling to the Norse by a goal for the second time in eight days.
On Oct. 21, the Tritons lost a 3-2 decision at NKU.
Just three minutes into Saturday's contest, Painter (left) sent a corner kick into the box, where
Kristi Hofmeyer headed the ball past Missouri-St. Louis goalie Kaitlyn Smugala into the back of the net for a 1-0 NKU lead. It was the seventh goal of the season for Hofmeyer, a senior from Cincinnati.
Six minutes later, Painter launched another corner kick, this one from the left side of the field. The hard bender curled over the entire Triton backfield into the back of net on the far side to extend the Norse advantage to 2-0 at the 9:37 mark.
“I typically look for (Amanda) Mason back-post, but Hoffy was there and able to hit it in," Painter said of her assist on the first goal. "On the second one, I was looking to drop the ball in around the six, hoping that someone would get a touch on it. It ended up just going in.”
Missouri-St. Louis sliced the NKU in half at the 42:14 mark when Courtney Blake knocked in a rebound shot in front of the net.
In the second half, Missouri-St. Louis owned a 6-2 edge in shot attempts but were unable to find the tying goal. NKU goalie
Cassie Lingenhoel finished with four saves and recorded the win.
NKU is now 20-2 all-time against Missouri-St. Louis. The Norse played Saturday night without leading scorer
Amanda Mason, who was nursing an injury.
Mason (pictured right), a senior from Northwest High School in Cincinnati, is the GLVC's leading scorer with 13 goals and 12 assists.
NKU will meet fourth-seeded Quincy in the GLVC Tournament semifinals on Friday. The Lady Hawks posted a 1-0 win against Rockhurst in a first-round game Saturday.
Earlier this season at Quincy, Ill., NKU pulled out a 1-0 victory against Quincy in two overtimes.
