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Box Score 2 NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Perhaps sparked by Senior Day, the Belmont women's soccer team (8-8-2, 4-4-2 OVC) pulled off an unbelievable victory in overtime over SIU Edwardsville (7-7-3, 4-4-2 OVC) for its regular season finale on Sunday afternoon at E.S. Rose Park. The Bruins rallied from behind to win the matchup 2-1 behind goals by seniors and gives BU its first OVC Tournament berth.
After a first half filled with a back and forth struggle that ended scoreless, SIUE scored first in the 59th minute of the second stanza but the Bruins quickly bounced back. The Bruins used a tremendous momentum shift to take the contest. Senior Laura Harris (Macon, Ga.) used an assist from sophomore Alison Alcott (Dallas, Texas) to find the back of the net for her fourth goal of the season in the 80th minute.
BU continued to surge with the equalizer in hand and forced an extra period to potentially decide its postseason fate. The Bruins worked swiftly in the first overtime and soon shifted momentum again in their favor. Just three minutes in, senior Lauren Paynter (Danville, Ky.) netted the gamewinner to send her teammates running onto the field in celebration.
"This was another battle to the end," said Head Coach Heather Henson. "Senior Day is always emotional, always a good day. The team understood the importance of today. The leadership of our nine seniors was amazing. Everyone knew the importance of a good game today. The team came in with the right focus.
"I am really excited to have senior scores lift us to the win today. We definitely earned this berth with their leadership."
Belmont held the advantage in shots, 13-10, and corner kicks, 6-1.
Harris, Paynter, and sophomore Taylor Smith (Atlanta, Ga.) led the Bruins with two shots apiece.
Junior Nicole Berner (Randolph, N.J.) went the distance the posts, finishing with six saves on the day.
With the win, Belmont earns the No. 5 seed in the 2012 OVC Tournament. The Bruins will take on No. 4 Southeast Missouri State on Thursday in Martin, Tenn.
