NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Belmont women's soccer team (2-0) extended its win streak to two on Friday afternoon at Rose Park.  The Bruins held off visiting Union (0-2), earning their first shutout of the season with the 1-0 victory.

BU opened the matchup aggressively, maintaining control of the the tempo and ball possession time for much of the half.  The stanza was marked by numerous near scoring misses that brought the large crowd of fans to their feet.  Senior Lauren Paynter (Danville, Ky.) tallied three consecutive near misses from crosses that were just seconds off perfect timing for her feet.  Finally, she fired one straight at the Lady Bulldogs goalkeeper who nearly bobbled the ball into the back of the net in the 44th minute of action.  Despite a strong effort, Belmont was unable to take the lead heading into the break.

As the second half opened, it was Union's chance to turn up the heat.  After losing the battle for possession throughout the first stanza, the Lady Bulldogs hustled and finally crossed midfield to threaten the Bruin goal.  However, BU's defense turned on the afterburners to maintain control, keeping netminder junior Nicole Berner (Randolph, N.J.) from having to do much work between the posts.

The Bruins made one strong push on both sides of the ball beginning in the 20th minute and yielded favorable results five minutes later.  Sophomore Allie Hicks(Carmel, Ind.) was a fed a perfect cross by freshman Sydney Scheben (Union, Ky.) and beat the Union goalkeeper for the lone goal of the contest.  

Belmont held the advantage in shots, 8-0, and corner kicks, 3-0.

Paynter notched a game-high four shots, followed by Hicks' three.  Newcomer Katie Proud (Knoxville, Tenn.) also came away with one shot.

Berner logged 90 minutes in goal en route to her first shutout of the season.

The Bruins return to action on Sunday afternoon at Rose Park, hosting first-time opponent Appalachian State.  Match time is set for 2 p.m.  Live stats and a live Twitter feed (@BelmontWSoccer) will also be available.

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