LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A back-and-forth contest between the Bellarmine University women's soccer team and Liberty stalled at a stalemate Sunday at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium.
The Knights and Flames exchanged goals on two occasions in regulation, but neither found the net in overtime as they finished in a 2-2 deadlock in ASUN action.
With less than two minutes remaining in regulation, Shevaun Judon of Liberty (3-4-5, 2-3-3 ASUN) capitalized on a deflection after a corner kick and charged in to sink a shot from 6 yards to knot it up at 2-all with Bellarmine (2-5-2, 2-3-2).
Each team posted three shots over the two overtimes, but the defenses didn't allow any prime scoring opportunities.
"Obviously, it's disappointing to let one slip away there at the end," Knights Coach
Chris Tinius said. "We lost the critical fives to start and end the second half and it cost us. That said, it would have been easy to cave and have lost the game after the way regulation ended but we didn't. By my math, we locked up at least a home game in the 4/5 matchup and still have an outside shot at a bye with the three-seed. This whole process is about steppingstones, and we are on the right path."
There was a ferocious wind blowing toward one of the goals. With the wind to its advantage in the first half, Bellarmine took a 1-0 lead in the 39th minute as sophomore
Zenia Nava bent a corner kick over the outstretched arms of the Liberty goalkeeper and into the net for her first goal as a Knight.
After halftime, Liberty didn't waste any time tying it up once it possessed the favorable wind. In the 48th minute, Lissi Gordon received a pass from Meredith King and laced a shot from 17 yards inside the far post.
Bellarmine did regain the lead in the 67th minute despite facing the fierce wind. Junior midfielder
Lauren Mackey sent a cross toward the center of the goalie box. Senior midfielder
Natalie Teo raced in and it appeared Liberty's goalkeeper and a Flames defender collided just behind Teo, with the ball ultimately ricocheting from the cluster of players into the net.
Mackey's first goal of the season pushed Bellarmine to a 2-1 lead before Judon delivered the equalizer in the 89th minute.
"It was great to find a goal at the end of the first half, but I actually didn't think we did enough to take advantage of the conditions," Tinius said. "We spent a lot of energy to only get one goal, and I think that wore on us once we faced the flipside in the second half. I had hoped being back on a one-game weekend could change up some of our rotations, but maybe I didn't manage that correctly."
The shots reflected the recipient of the favorable wind. Bellarmine had an 8-1 advantage in the first half, and Liberty held a 9-5 edge in the second stanza. Both teams had two shots in the first overtime and one each in the second extra session.
Prior to the game, Bellarmine honored seniors
Camryn Pictor,
Alex Harber, Teo,
Mary Kate Daniel,
Ellie Vandergriff and
Samantha Ferry.
"I want to congratulate and thank our seniors again for all of their contributions to our program," Tinius said.
For more coverage of Bellarmine athletics, follow us on Twitter (@BUKnights), Instagram (BUKnights) and Facebook (BUKnights).