Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After 110 minutes on the field, the Belmont women's soccer team (2-4-1) battled to its first double overtime decision of the 2013 campaign. The Bruins went toe-to-toe with Western Kentucky (1-3-4) at Rose Park and saw the grueling contest end in a 1-1 tie.
Western Kentucky opened the first stanza aggressively for the first 10 minutes but the Bruins were able to lean on the skills of netminder senior Nicole Berner (Randolph, N.J.) to snag a pair of early saves to keep them off the board. The Lady Hilltoppers worked to keep BU on its heels for the entire first 45 minutes but the Bruins hung tough in the face of a tenacious defense.
Just under two minutes into the second stanza, the Bruins were first on the scoreboard after a stunning decision. A shot by junior Allie Hicks (Carmel, Ind.) sends the ball into the box where the WKU goalkeeper Nora Abolins retrieved it. However, the referees awarded Belmont the goal after the keeper back peddled too far into the net with the ball in her gloves. Ahead 1-0, BU used the goal to fuel its efforts on both sides of the ball.
However, WKU was able to knot the score in the 59th minute, with a pair of quick passes to the foot of Iris Dunn, who sent the ball into the left corner on a fierce diagonal. The teams then fell into a whiplash pace of back and forth action in the midfield for ball possession. Freshman Meg Howard (Brentwood, Tenn.) had an excellent attempt for the go ahead goal in the 79th minute but it sailed just over the crossbar to the groans of a filled grandstand on hand for the team's annual Pink Out game. However, neither team was able to get past the other, forcing the match to be decided in extra minutes.
In the first overtime period, sophomore Cassie Blase (Waukesha, Wisc.) fired a rocket at the WKU goal at the 96:35 mark but Abolins was able to get her hands on the attempt. It was the best attempt of the first overtime to break the stalemate by either team.
The second overtime opened with an even more heightened level of intensity displayed by both teams. Western Kentucky maintained its aggressive stance, picking up its fourth offsides of the match with 1:48 ticked off the clock. The Lady Toppers even earned a pair of corner kicks but the Belmont defense kept up its refuse to lose attitude and thwarted both attacks, going on to win their first tie of the 2013 season.
WKU held the advantage in shots, 16-9, and corner kicks, 8-4.
Blase and classmate Rachel Dill (Carmel, Ind.) each tallied two shots to lead the team.
Berner went the distance between the posts and finished the night with six saves.
Belmont returns to action at home on September 27, opening up OVC play, hosting Eastern Illinois at Rose Park. Match time is set for 4 p.m. The contest can be seen live on the OVC Digital Network and live stats will be available. A live Twitter feed (@BelmontWBB) will also be available.
