FIRST ROUND SCORES
#6 Belmont 1, # 7 Austin Peay 0 (OT)
#8 Eastern Illinois 2, #5 Tennessee Tech 0
BELMONT 1, AUSTIN PEAY 0
MARTIN, Tenn. - Thanks to a game-winning overtime goal by Julie Garst, the Belmont women's soccer team advanced to Sunday's OVC Quarterfinals against No. 3 seed UT Martin with a 1-0 victory over Austin Peay in the first round of the OVC Tournament on Friday afternoon.
Appearing in their fourth straight OVC Tournament appearance, the Bruins came out of the opening kickoff firing shots immediately. Belmont had a one-on-one opportunity that resulted in two shots, with the Bruins collecting four shots in the first 10 minutes of play.
Belmont looked to move ahead in the 31st minute with a shot on goal, but Austin Peay's goalkeeper Mary Parker Powell came up with the save. The Governors looked to capitalize off a corner kick one minute later, but senior goalkeeper Lily Herman collected a critical save to keep the score tied 0-0.
Just like they did in the first half, Belmont came out controlling the offensive tempo to open the second half. The Bruins created a one-on-one opportunity in the 65th minute, but Austin Peay's defenders blocked the shot to keep the score knotted at zero.
The Governors looked to take advantage of a free kick with nine minutes left in regulation, but Herman protected the Bruins' net with a save. She finished the day with 10 saves, marking the second time this season where she has recorded double-digit saves.
Belmont came up with two more shot opportunities to close out the second half, but both were saved by Powell. The match was forced into overtime, with Belmont having to play in overtime in its third straight OVC Tournament match.
Not wanting the match to have to come down to penalty kicks, Belmont quickly got to work. In the opening minute of overtime, the ball landed at Patterson's feet, who passed it off to Garst from 20 yards out.
Garst dribbled the ball into the penalty area, forcing Powell to move out to defend Belmont's leading scorer. Firing her ninth shot of the day, Garst put her fifth goal of the season in the back of the net that allowed the Bruins to capture the win.
The Franklin, Tenn., native registered her 17th career goal, moving her in a tie for the eighth-most goals in program history with Meggan Harris (1997-2000).
Belmont will play in the OVC Quarterfinals on Sunday at UT Martin, with kickoff scheduled for 2 p.m.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 2, TENNESSEE TECH 0
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Eastern Illinois women’s soccer scored a goal in each half on a chilly Friday evening as the Panthers advanced to the quarterfinals of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament with a 2-0 win over Tennessee Tech.
The Panthers improved to 4-9-4 on the season and will play SIUE on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. for the chance to move on to the semifinals next weekend. Tennessee Tech ends its season at 6-8-5.
Junior defender Victoria Wharton, the only field player that has seen time in every minute of the season, scored what proved to the be the game winning goal in the 31st minute. It was her second career goal as Lexi Ketterhagen provided the assist.
The Panthers then tacked on an insurance goal in the 55th minute with Sarah DeWolf finding the back of the net on an assist from Pilar Barrio.
Goalkeeper Sara Teteak turned away six Tennessee Tech shots on goal as she posted her 19th career shutout to move into a tie for Panthers career lead in that category.
Kendall Powell registered two of the six shots on goal for the Golden Eagles in the loss.