MOSCOW, Idaho - After Northern Colorado had a 3-1 lead at halftime Sacramento State controlled play in the second half, outshooting the Bears 13-3 with five shots on goal, but could not find the back of the net as Northern Colorado earned a 3-1 win in the semifinal round of the Big Sky Tournament.

Sacramento State (8-12-0) saw its season come to a close after beating Eastern Washington by a similar 3-1 score on Thursday in the quarterfinals. The No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, Northern Colorado (13-7-1) advanced to Sunday's championship game with the win.

The loss was the first for the Hornets in the Big Sky Tournament since 2006. The Hornets had won five straight tournament games and were undefeated in their last seven.

The story on Friday - even more notable than the 37-degree kickoff temperature - was the wind. A steady 10 mile-per-hour wind blew across the field for the entire game, and the team with the wind at its back dominated each half.

That team was Northern Colorado in the first half as the Bears had an 11-2 edge in shots and put eight shots on goal. UNC took the lead in the eighth minute when Kassy Castillo finished in the goalmouth off a corner kick from Rebecca Lancia.

The only goal either team scored going against the wind came from the Hornets in the 13th minute. Off a free kick to the left of the goal box near the sideline junior Rachel Leonard found junior Adaurie Dayak, who corralled the ball and spun around in the goal mouth to roof a shot home and tie the game (SEE THE GOAL).

In the 27th minute the Bears regained the lead, scoring again off a corner kick as Lancia connected with Mariel Gutierrez for a header in close. Six minutes later Northern Colorado doubled its lead when Lancia sent a long cross from the right side of the box and the ball went through traffic untouched and into the Hornet goal.

After Northern Colorado controlled play in the first half the Hornets did so in the second half with the wind at their backs. Sacramento State had the ball on the Bears side of the field for most of the second period but UNC goalkeeper Kaitlin Ruff and her defense stood tall.

Ruff made five saves in the second half, the best coming on a close shot from Hornet sophomore Kylee Smith in which Ruff made a lunging save putting the ball off the crossbar and out of play. The Hornets also had three corner kicks in the second half but were unable to convert.

Dayak ended her junior season matching sophomore Kayla Collins for the team lead with seven goals, equaling the most goals for a Hornet in a season since 2010. Dayak and Collins each had two shots in the game while junior Kassidy Kellogg led with three, placing two on goal.

Junior goalkeeper Molly McConnell made a career-high six saves in the game, five of which came in the first half. The Hornets finished with a 15-14 overall edge in shots but Bears had a 9-6 advantage in shots on goal.

The 2015 season was one of tremendous growth for the Hornets, who finished at or above .500 in the Big Sky for the first time since 2010, which was the last season the team had qualified for the conference tournament. The five Big Sky regular season wins were the most conference wins in a season in program history, and the squad had a sixth win over a Big Sky team beating Eastern Washington on Thursday.

The roster will be virtually unchanged in 2016 as the Hornets lose just one graduating senior, forward Presley Strother. The team will be almost entirely comprised of seniors and juniors when the 2016 season kicks off next August.

NOTE: Collins was named to the All-Big Sky Tournament Team following the championship match.