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MISSOULA, Mont. — Northern Arizona's Adrian Nixt scored in the 78th minute to complete a 2-1, comeback win for the Lumberjacks over the Portland State women's soccer team Friday in the semifinals of the Big Sky Tournament at South Campus Stadium.
 
Nixt's goal broke a 1-1 tie that had stood since the 17th minute, when the Lumberjacks originally drew even with the Vikings, after Portland State had gone up 1-0 early in the match.
 
The loss eliminates the second-seeded Vikings (9-6-4) from the tournament, while advancing the third-seeded Lumberjacks (11-5-4) to the championship match Sunday.
 
"NAU was the better team today. They played the better game," PSU head coach Laura Schott said. "I'd like to congratulate [NAU head coach] Andre [Luciano]. They executed their game plan well."
 
Nixt scored the eventual game winner at the end of a long period of pressure from the Lumberjacks' attack in the second half. Portland State had held NAU to just three shots in the first half, but the Lumberjacks found their attack after halftime, and created several chances for themselves in the second half.
 
Still, the Lumberjacks didn't break through until Nixt's goal, which came as NAU's leading scorer, junior forward Haley Wingender, stretched the Viking defense with a long run up the right side of the field. Wingender's run drew two Portland State defenders towards her, leaving Nixt open in the middle of the field as she ran in behind the play. Wingender saw Nixt and threaded a ball through both Portland State defenders tracking her and past PSU goalkeeper Caitlin Plese to Nixt, leaving Nixt with an easy volley into the net for the go-ahead goal.
 
Nixt's goal forced the Vikings to pick up their own attack, and the Vikings came up with three shots and pair of corners in the search for an equalizer. The Vikings' best chance came just over 90 seconds from the end of the match, when junior midfielder/forward Cori Bianchini launched a shot from distance that just missed sneaking into the top of the goal, instead bouncing off the crossbar. The shot ricocheted back into play, leaving the Vikings with another chance in front of the NAU goal, but the Lumberjacks' defense blocked a subsequent shot from senior defender Kayla Henningsen, and the Vikings weren't able to draw back even with the Lumberjacks.
 
The Vikings had done well to stay level in the match before Nixt's goal, as NAU started to ramp up the pressure with several chances around the PSU goal just after the 60th minute. Junior defender Torie Morris came up big for the Vikings in that stretch, as she blocked a shot from an NAU player on the back post following a cross, then came back to clear a cross that got past PSU goalkeeper Caitlin Plese a little bit later.
 
Plese also punched out a corner from the Lumberjacks in the middle of NAU's push, and finally gathered the Vikings when she saved a long shot from NAU's Lindsay Doyle in the 63rd minute.
 
Plese saved the Vikings a little bit later, too, when the Lumberjacks struck again on a counter attack in the 71st minute. Doyle earned a long ball up the right flank to start the counter, before cutting back to find Demi Schmieder on the near post. Plese was covering the near post, however, and easily scooped up Schmieder's shot for the save.
 
Wingender then got loose in the 75th minute, as she got past the Vikings' back line while running down a long ball played up from the midfield. Wingender's run left her with a one-on-one with Plese, who had come off her line trying to block Wingender's shot. Wingender tried to scoot a ball past Plese on the ground as a result, but Plese dove for a kick save to knock the ball away. 
 
Wingender converted the next time she attacked the PSU goal, however, as she led the play that resulted in Nixt's go-ahead goal.
 
That goal completed a comeback for the Lumberjacks in the match, something no team had done against the Vikings this season before Friday. Portland State had been 9-0-1 when they scored first this season going into the match, and fell into that situation again Friday, as sophomore midfielder Abbey Bergquist put the Vikings up 1-0 in the 10th minute. Senior forward Angela Haluska and sophomore midfielder Bianca Munoz fed Bergquist the ball at the top of the box on the play, and Bergquist put a shot on frame from there that hit the left post and bounced into the net at an angle.
 
Northern Arizona tied up the match soon after, however, as Cierra Gamble found a loose ball in the box following a throw-in in the 17th minute, and slotted a shot across the ground and inside the near post.
 
The team's remained at a stalemate from there until Nixt's late goal broke the tie.
 
Friday's loss likely ends the 2014 season for the Vikings, as the team's RPI remains too low for a chance at an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament.
 
"I'd like to thank our seniors for four good years," Schott said after Friday's loss. "Their efforts and their careers are to be commended.
 
"Overall, we had a good year. We will continue to work on our mentality to where we leave everything on the field. When our mentality matures, we will take the next step in our progression as a program."
 
Match Notes: The Vikings fall to 5-11-5 all-time against Northern Arizona, which still stands as the Big Sky team with the best record against the Vikings…The Vikings also fall to 2-8-3 all-time in the Big Sky Tournament with Friday's loss…Haluska's assist marks the first-career assist for the former goalkeeper, who finished her Portland State career in the field.