Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A complete team effort pushed the Belmont women's soccer team (4-5-2, 1-1-1 OVC) to victory at the buzzer on Friday night at Rose Park. The Bruins came from behind to defeat Murray State (2-6-2, 0-2-1 OVC) for their first OVC win of the season.
The match opened with a heavy back and forth battle before Belmont settled in to take control of the tempo and time of possession. The Bruins saw several opportunities early in the stanza narrowly miss the mark. Finally, in the 12th minute, junior Meredith Martin (Franklin, Tenn.) headed the ball into the back of the net from a ball with the help of a lob by sophomore Cassie Blase (Waukesha, Wisc.), putting BU on top 1-0. It would not be until the 40th minute that Murray State would net the equalizer to send the teams into the break knotted 1-1.
Murray State opened the second half much more aggressively, looking to take an early lead but the Bruin defense worked diligently to clear the box and keep the ball in the midfield and in Racer territory. MSU would go up 2-1 with 74:55 on the clock and tightened up on both sides of the ball in hopes of carrying the slim lead to victory.
However, the Bruins had other ideas. In the final two minutes of regulation, BU saw a grand reversal of fortune courtesy of a pair of fouls by Murray State. With the free kick awarded from the first foul, junior
Alison Alcott (Dallas, Texas) booted the ball deep into traffic in front of the MSU net and it ricocheted off a Racer and into the back to net, knotting the game at 2-2 with 88:07 on the clock. Another foul 40 seconds later, opened the door for Alcott to notch her second goal of the match. As time expired, Alcott was able to repeat the feat, using another well placed free kick to find the back of the net and give Belmont the 3-2 victory.
Alcott led the Bruins with five shots, followed by senior Amy Jo Anderson (Birmingham, Ala.) and freshman Meg Howard (Brentwood, Tenn.) with four apiece.
Senior Nicole Berner (Randolph, N.J.) played all 90 minutes and tallied two saves.
Belmont held the advantage in shots, 18-12, and corner kicks, 3-2.
Belmont returns to action on Sunday at Rose Park for more OVC play. The Bruins host in-state rival Austin Peay beginning at 2 p.m. The contest can be seen live via the internet on the OVC Digital Network and live stats will be available.
