THIBODAUX, La. – Southeastern Louisiana's hopes for a Southland Conference Tournament bid came down to the last minute at Nicholls Friday evening.

    Senior midfielder Maddie Kresevic drilled in a shot off a pass from junior defender Sofia Olsson with 31 seconds left in the second overtime, lifting the Lady Lions to a 1-0 win over the Colonels at the NSU Soccer Complex.

    Unfortunately, those hopes were dashed later Friday as Texas A&M-Corpus Christi played a scoreless draw at Houston Baptist to clinch the final spot in next week's tournament.

    Southeastern (5-10-3, 3-6-2 Southland) had needed a win plus a Corpus Christi loss to move on. The Lady Lions finished tied with the Islanders (6-8-2, 3-6-2) for eighth but lost the tie-breaker. Nicholls (6-11-1, 3-7-1) would have also clinched the berth with a win or a tie.

    With Nicholls packing in on defense in the second overtime, Southeastern put three shots on net. The final one came in the final minute as Kresevic took Olsson's pass from the left side and lofted it over Nicholls keeper Roosa Hurmerinta into the top of the net for her third goal of the season. Olsson collected her second assist.

    Southeastern out-shot Nicholls 21-15, including 9-6 in shots on goal. Junior defender Christina Cutura had eight shots and five shots on goal while redshirt-junior midfielder Maggie Ramsey took seven and two respectively. Freshman goalkeeper Michaela Hawthorn made six saves in recording her fifth shutout of the season.

    Hurmerinta had seven saves for Nicholls. Francesca Curteis took a team-high five shots, two on goal.
  
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
   Lindsay Gardner missed high for Nicholls in the fifth minute.

    Junior midfielder Vanessa Arzaluz sent a shot from the top of the box just past the left post in the 10^th minute.

    Hurmerinta made a diving stop on Cutura's shot from the left wing in the 12^th minute.

    Haylee Atwell curled in a shot to Hawthorn in the 18^th minute.

    Freshmen midfielder Megan Gordon's header off a corner from Arzaluz sailed high in the 22^nd minute.

    Hawthorn leapt to deflect Curteis's shot from 20 yards out off the crossbar in the 31^st minute. Curteis got the ball back later in the possession but had her shot from the right wing grabbed by Hawthorn.

    Hurmerinta went down to snare sophomore forward Amber Marinero's lower liner from the right wing in the 35^th minute.

    Ramsey lined a shot off the post in the 37^th minute.

    Arzaluz's shot from the right wing sailed high in the 51^st minute.

    Hawthorn snared Kristy Helmers's harder liner from right side in the 53^rd minute.

    Curteis sent a shot wide left from just outside the box in the 59^th minute.

    Ramsey's shot from the right wing sailed high in the 61^st minute. She sent another shot wide in the 69^th minute.

    Hurmerinta dove to deflect Cutura's shot from the left corner of the net over the goal in the 73^rd minute. Cutura's shot from the right wing in the same minute sailed high.

    Hurmerinta dove at the right corner of the net to save Cutura's attempt from the right side in the 78^th minute.

    Hurmerinta denied Ramsey on a one-on-one attempt in the box after a through ball from Cutura in the 84^th minute.

    Curteis sent a free kick from outside the box just over the crossbar in the 92^nd minute.

    Ramsey missed high in the 97^th minute.

    Ramsey's shot from just outside the box sailed just high in the 103^rd minute.

    Logan Phillips kept the ball in the Southeastern zone and passed to Cutura whose header from outside the box sailed in to Hurmerinta in the 105^th minute.
 
NOTES
   The victory was Southeastern's first in overtime this season. The Lady Lions had been 0-1-3 in overtime matches this season. It was Southeastern's first overtime win since a 1-0 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Oct. 2, 2016.
 
   Kresevic's three goals this season tie a career high. She also had three in 2016.
 
   Cutura's eight shots and Ramsey's seven were the most in a match by a Lady Lion this season. Cutura's five shots on goal tied a season high for the Lady Lions.
 
   Southeastern has now ended Nicholls' bid for a tournament berth in the final match of each of the past three seasons.
 
QUOTES
Southeastern head coach Chris McBride:
On his team's resiliency…
   "They were playing for a tie and trying to slow the game down. When you have to play for a tie, it's a good strategy and a good tactic to go for. But we were real resilient today. We missed a couple of chances but we didn't let that get the best of us. We were still creating better chances in the second half. The fight was incredible. We challenged all the balls and didn't give up on anything. It was the attitudes and efforts that won it for us today."
 
On getting the shots in overtime…
   "It was so compacted, it was hard to get chances off. We just said we have to press everything and we did well. The girls did a fantastic job."