Late Goal Proves Costly as Bruins Fall to USC Upstate

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Belmont's (3-12-1) early goal proved not enough against a resilient USC Upstate (5-8-2) team as the Bruin's fell by a score of 2-1.  Belmont took the early lead in the first half when Brandon Tarr (Knoxville, Tenn.) assisted Will Moorad (Brentwood, Tenn.) for the goal, but Belmont would give up two unanswered second half goals to give the Trojans a victory.

Belmont weathered a few early storms in the game as USC Upstate recorded four shots before Belmont had their first scoring opportunity of the half. 

Nevertheless, it was the opportunistic Bruins who took the early lead when the offensive duo Brandon Tarr and Will Moorad hooked up for the first goal of the match.  Off of a turnover in the midfield, the ball was played to the feet of freshman Brandon Tarr.  Tarr turned and tucked the ball in behind the Trojan's defense to find Will Moorad whose first time shot beat the Trojan's keeper.

The early goal seemed to settle the Bruins who traded scoring opportunities with the Trojans for the remainder of the half.

As the whistle ending the first half blew, the Bruins took a one goal lead into the locker room.

The Trojans caught a break early in the second half when a clearance was deflected off of USC Upstate's Maurice Beggs into the Bruin's net.

After the equalizing goal, the Bruins went back on the offensive and had two back to back shots from midfielder Justin Hay and forward Will Moorad that required saves from the Trojans keeper.

However, USC Upstate would score the go ahead goal late in the game off of a free kick.  Timo Foerster stepped up to take the free kick and put a hard shot past freshman goalkeeper Lou Manning.

Belmont had one last chance when junior Brett Parker freed himself for a header, but his shot was again saved by the Trojan's goalkeeper who tallied three key saves late in the game for the Trojans.

The clock eventually ran out on the Bruins who fall to 2-6-0 in the Atlantic Sun this season.  After the game, Coach Davidson seemed displeased with the outcome of the match.

"They were playing for free kicks the whole game, and their last goal from a free kick I thought came from a dive.  With that being said, we battled through some tough conditions and had our chances but didn't tuck them away." 

The loss moves Belmont into last place in the Atlantic Sun standings, and the Bruins will need nothing short of a victory at ETSU to have a chance at making the Atlantic Sun Tournament. 

Belmont's matchup against ETSU will occur on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. in Johnson City, Tenn.