With a cannon blast, the No. 16 Missouri women’s soccer team (11-2, 6-1 Southeastern Conference) breeched Kentucky Friday night, 2-1, on Hometown Hero’s night.

The firing tube, called Little Joe, signaled the end to an overtime thriller at Walton Stadium. Tied up 1-1, junior defender Danielle Nottingham eeked a pass to junior forward Alyssa Diggs, who found twine off a left foot shot with minutes to spare on the overtime clock.

“The first one to score wins,” Nottingham said. “As much as we don’t want them to score, our style is always high risk; high reward. So we just went after it.”

The goal was Diggs’ second of the game and her team-leading sixth of the season.

Even with her four-game absence due to a right hamstring injury, Diggs’ 12 points now have her tied for the most on the team along with sophomore midfielder Abi Raymer.

“My hamstring feels a whole lot better,” Diggs said, who wore a black sleeve around her upper right leg during the game.

Missouri held on to a 1-0 lead for 83 minutes of the game before Kentucky tied it up late in the second half.

In the first half, senior forward Haley Krentz, who subbed into the attacking position for ill-stricken senior forward Taiwo Adeshigbin, booted a powerful shot at Kentucky’s goaltender, who couldn’t corral the ball.

Diggs swooped in and buried the rebound shot with 14 minutes left before halftime.

“Big props to Haley and her rocket shot,” Diggs said.

Missouri, which took 19 total shots, continued to put tallies on the board in the second half and kept Kentucky’s defense busy.

Krentz and Diggs almost linked up again with 29 minutes left in the game for a goal, but Kentucky goaltender Kayla Price made a nifty diving stop to her right.

With nine minutes left in the contest, senior midfielder Jessica Grant found a post with her shot. Her five shots on the evening, the most last night on the team, all came up empty.

After Grant’s shot, Kentucky turned around their constant sorrows on offense and played aggressively up front. Defender Arin Gilliland beat Missouri’s defense and redshirt sophomore goalie McKenzie Sauerwein after settling a loft pass and firing one into the net.

“Kentucky almost outplayed us in the second half,” coach Bryan Blitz said. “We bent a little bit and went to overtime. A lot of it had to do with Kentucky and their fight. We need to follow through. But in overtime, we had the opportunity and put it away And we’re thankful for it. But you have to give a lot of credit to Kentucky.”

Missouri will continue its home stand and take on Mississippi State at 1 p.m. Sunday.