Box Score MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Belmont women's soccer team saw offensive contributions from eight different players while continuously creating opportunities throughout its third double overtime draw of the season. The Bruins and Blue Raiders played the maximum 110-minute match but were both only able to find the back of the net once, resulting in the 1-1 tie Sunday afternoon inside the Dean A. Hayes Track and Soccer Stadium.
Belmont (0-2-3) pressured Middle Tennessee (2-2-1) early and often in the first half, triggering six shots in the first 20 minutes of play. In the midst of controlling the ball in the attacking third, the Bruins earned three consecutive corner kicks that resulted in two shots on frame before they would clinch a goal.
"We've wanted to generate a different rhythm of play and a different type of plan of attack and I think you're starting to see it," head coach Heather Henson said. "We're seeing the girls get more and more comfortable with it and some of the build ups are giving us goal scoring opportunities. We want to put pressure on our opponents and we want to have more dynamic attacks and we're starting to see that come together."
Senior defender Brittany Coca (Riverview, Fla.) collected her first career goal to put the Bruins up, 1-0, early in the match. Coca found the back of the net on a corner kick that was bounced around multiple times before making its way to the veteran who found a crevice to send the ball in. Sophomore midfielder Emily Whitcomb (Elmhurst, Ill.) and freshman Kameron Ziesig (Brentwood, Tenn.) were each credited with an assist on the play.
"It's exciting," Brittany Coca said of her long awaited first career goal. "I would totally rather wait this long to get a goal senior year, it makes the moment so special. I was honestly in shock when I realized it went in."
It was the first time this season that the Bruins scored first in a match, and the first time that they entered the second half with an advantage.
Middle Tennessee attempted to find the equalizer on a run down the field in the 33rd minute when a Blue Raider was able to find her way around senior goalkeeper Stephanie Bukovec (Toronto, Ontario, Canada). MTSU seemingly had a clear shot at the goal until freshman Bailey Heywood (Stockbridge, Ga.) came swooping in to make a beautiful tackle and clear the ball, maintaining Belmont's 1-0 advantage.
It wouldn't be until the beginning of the second stanza that the Blue Raiders would notch the equalizer and tie the game up, 1-1, in the 48th minute. MTSU's Salera Jordan secured the goal on an assist from Courtney Gibson.
Both squads spent a good portion of the second half trading possessions as neither teams defense would let anything past them in a physical battle. The Bruins continued to create opportunities throughout the game, registering 17 total shots – just one shy of tying a season high.
With time expiring in regulation, freshman Grace Whalen (Lexington, Ky.) sent in a perfect cross to the edge of the right post searching for a Bruin, but couldn't find anyone. The pass created the team's sixth corner kick of the match, but they still couldn't convert to force the Bruins to endure their third overtime match of the year.
With BU playing aggressive up front, Bukovec was put to work defending the goal. The senior ensured that MTSU wouldn't register the victory as she robbed a Blue Raider of a potential game-winning goal in the 93rd minute in a one-on-one situation. Bukovec's save was one of many defensive plays she made to keep the draw intact.
"Stephanie is a very confident goalkeeper and aggressive off of her line, she reads through balls extremely well so we can play our style of play with her in the goal," Henson said. "She helps us build our attack but she's also there for those balls that come through."
Junior Heather Ferrari (Duluth, Ga.) was one of three Bruins to release three shots and the lone Bruin to get all three on frame. Sophomore forward Allie Svoboda (Lisle, Ill.) also registered multiple shots on goal, registering two.
UP NEXT
The Bruins will make their 2016 home debut Friday, Sept. 9 when they face Wright State at E.S. Rose Park. Kickoff is slated for 6:30 pm. Belmont will then head to Louisville, Ky. for a matchup against the Cardinals Sunday, Sept. 11.
Lead photo taken by Belmont junior Jay Burnett.
