QUINCY, Ill. – The storybook season for the No. 3 seed Ohio Valley women’s soccer program came to an end in the opening round of the NCAA Championship Midwest Regional on Friday in a loss to No. 6 Bellarmine, 3-0.
 
The Fighting Scots, ranked 20th nationally going into their first national tournament appearance, finished a tremendous season with a 16-1-3 record.
 
OVU was the Great Midwest Athletic Conference regular-season champion, tournament champion and one of two teams to qualify for the NCAA Championship bracket.
 
It represented a major turnaround under Great Midwest Coach of the Year Luis Rincon after the program was 1-15-1 just a season ago. The Fighting Scots claimed the Great Midwest Offensive Player of the Year (Konstantina Giannou) and the Great Midwest Defensive Player of the Year (Ana Da Costa).
 
Bellarmine pulled the upset and advances to face No. 2 seed Quincy in a matchup of Great Lakes Valley Conference programs in the regional semifinals.
 
The Knights played suffocating defense that didn’t allow Ohio Valley to attempt a shot in the first half and scored two goals in less than five minutes to pull away in the second half.
 
Audrey Van Der Elst scored twice, including the game winner just less than 18 minutes off the opening whistle. Samantha Ferry recorded the first goal of the second half to give Bellarmine a 2-0 lead.
 
Bellarmine didn’t score a goal in the GLVC Championship, playing to a pair of two scoreless ties. The Knights advanced in a shootout against Southern Indiana, but fell in PK’s to Quincy, their next playoff opponent.
 
Ohio Valley had won three games in the Great Midwest Championship to bring home the program’s first conference trophy, beating No. 8 Walsh, No. 5 Ursuline and No. 2 Ohio Dominican, in the final.
 
The Great Midwest has No. 5 Ohio Dominican still represented in the women’s soccer regional bracket. The Panthers face No. 4 seed McKendree tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m. ET from Allendale, Mich., as Grand Valley State serves as the host site.