Bruins Silenced in Draw

Bruins keep Thundering Herd from scoring (Sam Dicus)

Belmont’s women’s soccer team let a 3-1 advantage slip away in the second half of Thursday’s match, resulting in a 3-3 draw with Marshall University.

The Thundering Herd’s two second-half penalty kicks spoiled the Bruins’ night in front of their largest home crowd of the season.

“They play a completely different game than we play. We’re a feisty team, and those calls and those fouls were just unlucky,” said junior forward Reagan Ross. “It does suck, though, because we had three beautiful goals, and they got two lucky PKs.”

Belmont’s head coach Kelsey Cameron refused postgame interviews. 

Despite the quiet conclusion for the Bruins, there were some early offensive fireworks. 

After going 245 minutes without scoring to start the season, it took Ross just 15 minutes to get the crowd of 180 on their feet at E.S. Rose Park.

In the 15th minute, senior Lillie Tabor passed to senior Kate Virtel, who set up Ross for her second goal of the year, giving Belmont a 1-0 lead.

Ross gave them something else to cheer about in the 18th minute, netting her second goal of the game and her third of the year off an assist from senior Laken Whittington.

With the Bruins up 2-0, it matched their goal production across the previous four games in 342 fewer minutes. 

Marshall responded with a goal of its own off the left foot of sophomore Monroe University transfer Wiktoria Mikrut in the 38th minute. 

That cut the Thundering Herd’s deficit to one heading into the half, but it would not stay there long. 

Five minutes into the second half, Whittington notched her first goal of the season off an assist from sophomore Katelyn Hnatek, pushing the advantage to 3-1. 

From that point on, the momentum of the game shifted Marshall’s way. 

In the 60th minute, Marshall challenged a play near midfield and, after a lengthy review, was awarded a penalty kick. 

The Thundering Herd tabbed Mikrut for the penalty kick, and she rewarded them with a goal in the lower-left corner of the net. 

Then, in the 76th minute, it felt like déjà vu after another Marshall challenge led to another lengthy review, which led to another penalty kick for Mikrut, giving the Polish standout a hat trick.

In addition to the two penalty kicks, Belmont and Marshall combined for four yellow cards in an extremely physical second half, three of which came after the tying goal.

Cameron and the Bruins tried to regain momentum in the 84th minute by doing the same thing the Thundering Herd did—challenging a play for a penalty kick. 

They were not rewarded, and the final whistle sounded without much fanfare. 

“I’m just glad we didn’t walk out losing that game,” said Ross. “At the end of the day, I think we’re the better team, and I’m glad we got a result out of it, but it should have been a win.”

Despite leaving the match without a victory, the Bruins ended the night with their best offensive performance of the season.

“Those three goals in one game are really good for us, so hopefully we can just take that into the next game and get a dub next time,” said Ross.

At 1-2-2, Belmont will head west for an in-state matchup against the UT Martin Owls on Sep. 3.

This article was written by Sam Dicus