Women's Soccer Battles Samford In Scoreless Draw

Belmont Vision Multimedia

The Belmont women’s soccer team finished its matchup against Samford University in a scoreless tie on Thursday.

After four consecutive matches ending in a draw, the Bruins are 2-1-4 on the season, while Samford’s three-match win streak ended, putting their season record at 3-2-3.

Initially, the game was a defensive slugfest; it took 11 minutes before senior midfielder Olivia Walker broke through for the Bruins with the first shot on goal.

From there, Belmont struggled to work through the Bulldogs’ defenders, while Samford routinely applied significant pressure to the Bruins’ defense.

Samford had plenty of scoring opportunities in the first half, but goalkeeper Sydney Jones made three saves, and her defenders helped keep the Bulldogs at bay.

Jones, in her second year as a graduate student at Belmont after transferring from Lipscomb, delivered her fourth shutout of the season after recording eight saves during the match.

Belmont was on the defensive for most of the first half, allowing five shots while only taking two, and the Bruins needed halftime adjustments heading into the break.

Senior defender Sami Bird said the key for the Bruins was “bringing the energy up and it staying up.”

However, Belmont’s offensive struggles persisted after halftime. The Bruins went 64 minutes between shot attempts from sophomore Megan Miller in the 21st minute and freshman Meredith Koltz in the 85th.

Meanwhile, Samford had nine attempts in the second half, six of which came between the 47th and 57th minute.

Despite this, the Bruins kept the Bulldogs scoreless long enough to give their offense a chance to generate momentum.

In the 81st minute, Samford junior Sam De Luca was assessed a yellow card for contact made with a Bruins player. This marked a turning point for the Bruins, as they seized momentum and looked more in control than at any other point in the match.

Ultimately, this led to a nerve-racking finish, as every member of the highly engaged Bruins crowd held their breath when Samford freshman Abigail Wooten’s attempt barely rose over the top of the goalpost in the 89th minute.

Then Belmont answered right back with a chance to take the lead with only 12 seconds left, but sophomore goalkeeper Peyton Hull played spoiler as she secured the ball and ended the game.

“Honestly, I was just praying that it was going through,” Bird said, “But it was just really exciting to see that we ended on their half and not on ours.”

Overall, the game showcased another dominant performance from the Bruins’ defense, which has allowed only three goals in seven matches, along with five shutouts.

“I think it just shows that we’ve really been working on that and really fine-tuning our defense,” Bird said.

The defense’s next chance to shine will be Sunday, when the Bruins travel to take on the Chattanooga Mocs. -   

This article was written by Sam Dicus