HATTIESBURG, Miss. — It was another first
for Xavier University of Louisiana women's soccer in its debut season.
Britni Belmonte's goal from 35 yards
out in the 80th minute Thursday evening lifted the Gold Nuggets to a 3-2 victory against
Tennessee Wesleyan in the opening round of NAIA nationals.
XULA (13-5) will play No. 1 overall
seed William Carey (20-0) in the second round at 1 p.m. Saturday at Carey's Danny Owens Field.
Carey had a first-round bye.
The victory was XULA's newest delight
in a three-month whirlwind that included a Red River Athletic Conference
regular-season championship — the Gold Nuggets, as you would expect,
were picked 11th out of 14 teams in the preseason coaches poll —
and an automatic bid to nationals.
Belmonte's goal was her sixth of the season and her first in nine games.
"Honestly, when I first shot the ball I wasn't even expecting
it to go in," Belmonte said. "I was surprised and so happy.
I've been trying those shots all season. They've never found the back of the net, but finally
this was the game."
XULA never trailed.
Julia de Souza
scored in 26th minute with an assist from
Luci Schroeder, and
Faye Butterworth
scored on a left-side free kick in the 72nd minute.
"An absolute beauty — right in the top corner," Belmonte said
of Butterworth's shot. "When Faye comes in, she always makes a huge impact."
Tennessee Wesleyan (16-3-1) needed
less than five minutes to answer de Souza and Butterworth's goals.
Anna-Lena Strauss scored in the 27th minute for a tie at 1,
and Valerie Koopman scored in the 76th minute to tie XULA at 2.
"I am very proud of the girls' effort and determination,"
XULA head coach
Ashley Cordeiro said. "It was a very competitive game, and credit to Tennessee
Wesleyan for giving us such a battle to fight. We scored some high-quality goals
which couldn't have came at a better time."
Tennessee Wesleyan had seven shots on goal, but only one after Belmonte's goal.
"It's always a mental game keeping the lead," Belmonte said.
"Those last 10 minutes we tried to keep our composure, keep the ball and never force anything.
All our hard work, dedication and commitment showed in this game."
XULA became the first team this season to score three goals
in one game against the Bulldogs.
