Box Score MARTIN, Tenn.- The Belmont women's soccer team was defeated by UT Martin 1-0 on Sunday afternoon at the Skyhawk Soccer Complex.
Belmont collected 11 shots on the day, marking the fourth time in the last five games where the Bruins reached double digits in shots.
"We expected another tough game because everyone knows it's conference season time," head coach Heather Henson said. "Unfortunately, we had an early goal against us and it put us behind in the game. I think we were able to rebound well and make the defensive adjustments to eliminate those opportunities again. I thought we adjusted well and responded well in terms of keeping our head."
UT Martin immediately hit the ground running in the opening minute, capitalizing off their first corner kick of the day. The ball reached UT Martin's Hendrikje Baurmann, with the game's first shot being saved by Belmont goalkeeper Lily Herman.
Baurmann recovered the ball and tapped it into the net, giving the Skyhawks a 1-0 lead.
In the 12th minute, Belmont had an early chance to tie the match with a one-on-one opportunity. UT Martin's Erica Myers, however, came up with three consecutive saves on Belmont's three shot on goal attempts to keep the Skyhawks' one-goal lead.
After the Bruins collected shot on goal opportunities in the first half, UT Martin made Belmont's scoring chances limited in the final 45 minutes. Belmont's offense sliced through the defense in the 72nd minute to create a one-on-one shot on goal, but Myers' came up with her fifth save of the match to prevent the Bruins from getting a score.
"(UT Martin coach) Phil (McNamara) does a great job with his team," Henson said. "They're well coached and I respect him and (associate head coach) Leslie (Gilles) and how they build their program. I was proud of the efforts from all of our players. Everybody who came into the game was able to bring an impact to our game. That's what I ask of them all the time."
For the fourth time in the last five matches, the Bruins had six players off the bench play key minutes down the stretch. Belmont's six players off the bench accumulated over 200 minutes on Sunday.
"The bench is impactful and because of how our conference is set up with the Friday-Sunday route, that's why I say it takes all 25 of us to win," Henson said. "I thought they did a great job of responded whenever they were called upon. They were able to be impactful. They brought another level of energy, they created some opportunities for us, and defensively they denied some opportunities. They did everything I asked of them."
Belmont wraps up a five-game road trip on Friday, traveling to Morehead State to continue conference play at 5 p.m.
