Story by Adam Redfern
Staff writer
aredfern@murraystate.edu
Murray State put on an offensive showcase against Belmont University on Sunday behind two goals from freshman forward Abby Jones.
The Racers opened the scoring sheet when Jones received a pass from junior forward Lizzie Tilton. The Bruins were confused and stopped play when the assistant referee raised his flag for offsides, however the main ref waived off the call and let play continue, allowing Jones to score.
“I knew the ground was wet, so I knew that there would be a lot of opportunities in front of the goal,” Jones said. “I was aiming to keep going to the goal and keep crashing to the net. I ended up making a run and continued into the net.”
Another goal was scored when the ball was played into Belmont’s six yard box, and junior forward Emma Heise roofed the ball to make the lead 2-0.
In the 43rd minute the Racers received another opportunity when one of Belmont’s players was called for handball in the box. Jones slotted the penalty kick past junior goalkeeper Lily Herman to make the game 3-0.
The Racers continued their offense-heavy performance when freshman midfielder Lydia Grogan put the ball over Herman to give Murray State a 4-0 lead. This was Grogan’s first career goal.
Senior forward Miyah Watford was on the receiving end of a double yellow in the 66th minute and was ejected. Watford will also be disqualified from the next match because of the double yellow.
After struggling for the majority of the game, Belmont finally scored in the 79th minute with a shot from sophomore forward Julie Garst.
This would prove fruitless, as the Racers would hold on to their lead and claim a 4-1 victory.
Head Coach Matt Lodge was impressed by his team’s performance in today’s match despite being down five starters.
“For sixty-five minutes it was probably one of our better performances,” Lodge said. “The girls did really well, the ones that were on the field, and the ones that came off the bench. They did what they had to do to get that result.”
Murray State (10-3-1) (6-2), will play its next game against Morehead State University at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 19 at Cutchin Field.