Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Behind a goal and assist from senior Julie Garst in her final game as a Belmont Women's Soccer player, the Bruins defeated Morehead State in the final match of the 2021 spring season 2-0 on Tuesday night at Rose Park.
Sophomore goalkeeper Sarah Doyle recorded three saves, collecting her third complete shutout of the season in the process.
"I'm extremely proud of the team," head coach Heather Henson said. "This program made steps moving forward where we started the game at a much higher pace and had a winning record in the season. We made steps moving forward as a program from season to season and I'm so proud."
After trading possessions, Belmont struck first in the 28th minute. Sophomore midfielder Avery Nowak scored her second goal of the season off an assist from Garst, giving Belmont a 1-0 lead that they would carry into the locker room.
Garst capped off her Belmont career by scoring her final goal as a Bruin and the final score of the 2021 spring season in the 76th minute to give Belmont a 2-0 advantage. The Bruins did not allow a shot to Morehead State in the final 14 minutes, allowing Belmont to seal its third shutout victory of the season.
"I came into this game knowing it would be my last," Garst said. "I wanted to come out here and have fun and be joyful and enjoy the last 90 minutes with my team. To put away a goal and have an assist, I don't really have any words for it. It just meant so much to me and it's an exciting way to go out."
Belmont's other four seniors will exercise the NCAA's extra year of eligibility in the fall 2021 season. Garst recently accepted her dream job with the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital in the NICU and is set to graduate in this spring with a degree in Nursing from Belmont.
The Franklin, Tenn., native finishes her Belmont career with 22 goals, which is currently tied for second on the program's career goal list with Cristin Czubik (1998-2001) and Belicia Mendiola (2014-17). With 53 career points, Garst is now fourth on the program's career point list.
"The biggest thing (I'm taking away from Belmont) is relationships," Garst said. "Our team is a huge family and we're all so close and love each other. I think that off the field translates to the on the field chemistry helped us be so successful."
Belmont finished the 2021 spring campaign with a 5-4-1 record, finishing fifth in the Ohio Valley Conference standings. The Bruins played all 10 of their scheduled games without a postponement or cancellation due to COVID-19.
With a majority of the Bruins' roster returning for the fall season in 2021, Belmont plans to use the lessons learned from the spring season to jump start another title run in the fall.
"10 games doesn't give a lot of time to get as much experience as compared to a 20-game season, but whatever time you get is experience in a season like this," Henson said. "We're going to take those minutes and take those opportunities that we learned individually as players as well as our team. We're going to take the knowledge (from this season) and grow."
