NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Two goals early in the first half were enough to keep the Belmont women’s soccer team (10-5-1, 4-4 A-Sun) from coming from behind to defeat visiting Stetson (6-8-1, 4-4 A-Sun) on Sunday afternoon. The Bruins were edged 2-1 by the Hatters and slip to 4-4 in Atlantic Sun play.

SU found the back of the net for the first time with 5:07 on the clock when Sarah Isley picked up her first goal of the season. Just over 10 minutes later, the Hatters notched a second goal, courtesy of Sarah Stock. The Bruins turned up the offensive heat and looked to score before the end of the first stanza. A corner kick by senior Sarah Brandt (Hendersonville, Tenn.) set up a header by junior Anna Holt (Nashville, Tenn.) that was stopped by Hatter net minder Andrea Garavaglia in the 35th minute. With the momentum on their side, the Bruins pushed and kept the ball deep in Stetson territory for about five minutes. Freshman Erica Carter (Spring, Texas) took a dribbling pass from sophomore Alex Mindel (Marietta, Ga.) and challenged the keeper head on. Carter’s speed in the box helped her to get past Garavaglia for her fifth goal of the season. Belmont looked to have another scoring opportunity in the waning minutes of the half but was called offsides.

In the second half, both teams waged a defensive battle to keep their opponent out of deep territory. The Bruins switched from senior Micaela Crowley (Hoover, Ala.) to sophomore Zirka Thompson (Alpharetta, Ga.) inside the net to keep fresh legs inside the net. BU also began much more aggressive in its hunt for the equalizer goal. The Hatters used the clock to their favor and kept the ball in the midfield in the latter portion of the half. Finally in the 89th minute, Carter was able to face Garavaglia again inside the box but put too much on the ball and it sailed over the crossbar, allowing Stetson to hold on for the 2-1 victory.

The Hatters held the advantage in shots, 8-5, while the Bruins held the advantage in corner kicks, 4-1.

Crowley and Thompson split time inside the net and combined for four saves.

“I give Stetson a lot of credit for those two early goals. [Allowing that to happen] was very uncharacteristic for us,” said Head Coach Lisa Howe. “It put us into a panicked mode.

“I thought that we created chances for us to win both games this weekend. We just need to finish on our opportunities. It is definitely something we will work on in practice this week.”

Belmont returns to action on Friday, October 26th on the road in Florida. The Bruins will face off against Jacksonville, beginning at 6 p.m. CT.