Box Score JONESBORO, Ark. -- The Belmont women's soccer team (3-4-0) was able to pull out a much needed win on the road on Friday afternoon. The Bruins defeated Arkansas State (2-4-1), 2-1, to snap a three-game skid and improve to 3-4 on the season.
BU wasted little time attacking the goal in the first stanza with sophomore Amy Jo Anderson (Birmingham, Ala.) fired at the net. The Redwolves attacked early as well but were unable to get past sophomore netminder Nicole Berner (Randolph, N.J.). The teams fell into a back and forth battle that neither team would win before heading into the half scoreless on both sides.
After the break, the teams continued to battle back and forth until the 49th minute when senior Morgan McBride (Collierville, Tenn.) found the back of the net after being fed the ball from the top of the box by classmates Alex Morgado (Suwanee, Ga.) and Dani Stolt (Morris Plains, N.J.). However, ASU was able to find the equalizer less than 10 minutes later. The back and forth battle ensued again down the stretch but neither team could find an offensive rhythm to produce a goal. Finally in the 79th minute, freshman Taylor Smith (Atlanta, Ga.) deflected the ball off the ASU goalkeeper into the back of the net to record her third goal of the season. A strong defensive effort kept the Bruins ahead by one goal for the rest of regulation and they were able to hold onto the one goal advantage.
"I thought we did a good job tonight," said Head Coach Heather Henson. "Arkansas State is a good team. They never gave up and they battled until the end."
"We went up by a goal and then they tied it up back up. I thought we did a good job of keeping our heads, keeping our composure, staying within our game plan and we were able to convert our second goal from Taylor (Smith)."
"I thought it was overall a good effort by the whole team. We played quite a few numbers. I'm very excited to get a win as we finish up our non-conference season and get ready to head into conference season with a win under our belts," Henson said.
Stolt led the Bruins with a game-high five shots while Smith finished with four. Junior Lauren Paynter (Danville, Ky.) picked up two shots during the contest. Berner went the distance between the posts, collecting one save on the day.
Belmont held the advantage in shots, 14-11, but the teams were even in corner kicks with four apiece.
The Bruins return to action on Friday, September 23 in their first Atlantic Sun contest of the season. BU will travel to Kennesaw State for a match-up beginning at 6 p.m. Live stats will be available.
