Box Score INDIANAPOLIS- After capturing the early lead, the Belmont women's soccer team fell short 3-1 against IUPUI on Friday night.
Belmont tied a season-high of 14 shots and seven shots on goal, marking the third time in the last four games where they have accumulated 10 or more shots.
"We've been on the road a lot, but this is literally our first overnight stay," head coach Heather Henson said. "Part of it is us learning how to work through that preparation, but also being mentally ready to start a game. I think we started out slow. Two of their goals were not in the flow of the game. They were on restarts. We have to clean up restart (situations).
"I think those are areas that we need to work on: how do we as a team and a staff manage overnight trips to make sure we're ready to go when the whistle blows to start the game, to play a full 90 (minutes), and we have to manage our restarts better."
Despite Michael A. Carroll Stadium being the biggest sized stadium Belmont has played in this season, the stands filled up fast with Bruin fans traveling from all across the country. Belmont used that support defensively, with senior goalkeeper Lily Herman coming up with two saves on IUPUI's first two shot on goal attempts in the first 10 minutes.
The Bruins quickly turned into the aggressor offensively, with Sydney Cason jumping on a loose ball and feeding Julie Garst inside the penalty area. Garst kept control of the ball and collected her 14th career goal to give Belmont the early 1-0 lead.
Having scored a goal in Sunday's win against Evansville, Garst's second goal of the season marked the fourth time in her career where she has scored in two consecutive games.
"We asked them to play in a one and two touch rhythm and I think that was a great example of how we have one possession and we're able to counter out of it and use a combination to slip the ball through," Henson said. "I think that was a great example of us seeing, utilizing it, and getting a goal out of it."
With the Bruins continuing to control the pace on offense, IUPUI looked to capitalize off a corner kick in the 36th minute. Feeding off assists from Valentine Pursey and Megan Wurth, IUPUI's Natalie McNally knotted up the score at one goal each to give the Jaguars the momentum heading into the locker room.
IUPUI once again capitalized off another corner kick situation, with the Jaguars scoring off their first shot attempt of the second half thanks to a goal from Elizabeth Bueckers off the assist from Pursey in the 46th minute. The Jaguars struck again 20 minutes later, with Maya Lacognato scoring IUPUI's third goal of the game off the assist from Wurth.
"We're just taking what we're learning," Henson said. "We need to mentally come in the game ready to go and be better defensively on restarts. Those are things we can correct and clean up and I liked how we linked and we were able to score on a goal with Julie and Syd."
Belmont wraps up non-conference play on Sunday, facing Indiana State in Terre Haute, Ind., at noon.
