In an evenly matched 90 minutes at E.S. Rose Park, the Belmont women’s soccer team tied the Indiana University—Purdue University Indianapolis Jaguars, as neither team found the back of the net Friday night.
In a defensive match, both sides were offered several scoring opportunities but were held down by notable defensive play.
In the 26th minute, junior Maci Pekmezian and the Bruins rallied enough momentum to take a shot but were slightly off target as the ball soared just over the crossbar.
A few minutes later the Jaguars responded with a shot of their own toward the top left corner, but the chance was blocked by senior goalkeeper Sarah Doyle, who jumped to prevent a goal.
Doyle continued this incredible performance for the remainder of the match, recording three saves in total.
Head coach Heather Henson was impressed with what she saw from her star goalkeeper.
“Sarah does a great job of organizing which helps eliminate shots from happening,” Henson said after the game. “They had shooting opportunities tonight, but she was able to find all the right angles while attacking and being aggressive.”
The final 45 minutes closely resembled the first as defenses continued to hold firm.
After an off-target shot by senior midfielder Avery Nowak in the 48th minute, IUPUI came back with two shots off their own in the 52nd and 53rd minutes.
From there, the match remained at a steady pace for the rest of the game as neither team’s offense could break through to score.
In total, Belmont took 10 shots to IUPUI’s 11 and recorded three saves to the Jaguars’ two.
Getting their second draw of the season, the Bruins now stand 1-1-2 and will hit the road to play five away matches.
Belmont will face off against Western Kentucky University on Sunday before traveling to Austin Peay State University on Thursday night.
The Bruins will return home on Sept. 25 to take on Missouri Valley Conference opponent Southern Illinois University.
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PHOTO: Goalkeeper Sarah Doyle Nikiah Perry
This article was written by A.J. Wuest