Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Five different Bruins found the back of the net on Friday evening as the Belmont women's soccer team (4-6-2, 2-2-1 OVC) breezed by visiting Jacksonville State (4-9-1, 0-5 OVC). It marked the most goals scored by BU at Rose Park.
Belmont dominated the match from the opening whistle, controlling the tempo and holding most of the time of possession.
Junior Allie Hicks (Carmel, Ind.) scored first for Belmont on a incredibly curved ball that sailed into the back of the net from 25 yards out just eight and a half minutes into the match. Senior Emily Jones (Cleveland, Tenn.) would net her first goal of the season at the 39:54 mark on a penalty kick.
Jacksonville State was able to finally get on the board in the final 30 seconds of the first stanza with a strike from 20 yards out by Brianna Boutziouvis.
The second half was all Belmont on both sides of the ball. Freshman Meg Howard (Brentwood, Tenn.) fired a laser that smacked into the left post before bouncing back to roll into the net to put the Bruins on top, 3-1.
Junior Meredith Martin (Franklin, Tenn.) used a corner kick by sophomore Cassie Blase (Waukesha, Wisc.) to notch her second goal of the season and push BU to a 4-1 advantage with 57:24 on the clock.
Belmont's final goal of the contest came at the 63:40 mark courtesy of a penalty kick by senior Amy Jo Anderson (Birmingham, Ala.).
Belmont held the advantage in shots, 19-7, and corner kicks, 6-1.
Blase and classmate Emily Epley (Goshen, Ky.) led the team in shots with three apiece. Howard, Jones, and junior Taylor Smith (Atlanta, Ga.) each finished with two shots.
Senior Nicole Berner (Randolph, N.J.) and sophomore Lindsey Espe (LaCanada, Calif.) split time between the posts. Berner only had to come up with one save, thanks to her teammates' tremendous defensive effort.
"It was a battle but the result was total team effort," said Head Coach Heather Henson. "That is how we have to come into every OVC game. I was so proud of our effort.
"Jacksonville State kept fighting, kept going after it. We had to play our game and raise our level of play to battle. Tonight really was just a whole team effort."
Belmont returns to action on October 18 on the road at Southeast Missouri State. Match time is set for 6:30 p.m. The contest can be seen live on the OVC Digital Network.
