Box Score CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Belmont women's soccer's 2016 campaign came to close Sunday afternoon as they were unable to overcome a pesky Tennessee Tech squad that posted a 3-0 victory over the Bruins in the first round of the OVC tournament.
BU (6-9-4) closed out a historic season with their first postseason appearance since 2012 in a hard fought battle against TTU (11-6-3). The squad showed heart throughout the entire match, outshooting the Golden Eagles 14-13 and sending six attempts on goal but were held scoreless.
Junior forward Belicia Mendiola (McKinney, Texas) got things started for the Bruins offense in the early minutes of the match after a beautifully constructed set piece off a free kick. Senior defender Brittany Coca (Riverview, Fla.) wound up at midfield and launched a ball into the 18-yard box where two Bruins got a touch on the ball before sending it to Mendiola. The midfielder capitalized on an open look and just barely saw the ball soar over the goal to hold the game scoreless. Mendiola got off three of BU's first four attempts, including forcing TTU's goalkeeper Kari Naerdemann to record her first of six saves.
Despite controlling the tempo of the match in the initial minutes of the game, Tennessee Tech capitalized first after rebounding a corner kick. The Golden Eagles delivered their first corner into the box where junior defender Tara Austin (Beaumont, Texas) intercepted the pass to clear the ball out of danger but Tech's Dani Shartouny corralled the rebound. Shartouny gathered the ball and sent a bullet into the upper left corner of the frame to give TTU a 1-0 advantage in the 21st minute.
In the final seconds of the first stanza the Golden Eagles snuck another goal past the Bruins after making their way into the middle of the box to double their advantage. Michaella Keyes lobbed a ball right over senior goalkeeper Stephanie Bukovec's (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) fingertips and into the back of the net to put Tech up 2-0 as time expired.
Tennessee Tech came out of halftime much like the ended the first frame, controlling the ball and threatening often. The Golden Eagles hung up three quick shots, forcing freshman keeper Lily Herman (Springboro, Ohio) to settle in quickly after replacing Bukovec. Herman demonstrated resilience early as she made crucial saves against an aggressive Tech squad.
Bukovec provided the Bruins with a new look after moving forward for the second half. The Toronto, Ontario, Canada product maneuvered her way through multiple Golden Eagle defenders and found herself in a one-on-one situation with Naerdemann, but the keeper was able to stop Bukovec before she was able to get a shot off keeping the Bruins scoreless through the first 60 minutes of play.
With 20 minutes remaining Tennessee Tech struck again, scoring its third goal of the day. After breaking through Belmont's back line the Golden Eagles found numbers in their favor and Shartouny found the back of the net for the second time of the afternoon to increase the lead, 3-0.
The Bruins refused to let up as they continued to attack TTU's goal until the final whistle. Freshman forward Kameron Ziesig (Brentwood, Tenn.) and Bukovec blasted back-to-back shots on goal, but were unable to get past one of the conference's leading keepers as Naerdemann collected both shots to register her 10th shutout of the season.
Mendiola recorded a team-high seven shots, releasing three on goal, while Ziesig tallied three of her own attempts. Herman finished the day with a pair of saves.
Photo taken by Belmont junior Jay Burnett.
