JACKSONVILLE – An early second half goal by Belmont was the only hiccup for Jacksonville State in a 1-0 loss to the Bruins on Friday night at the JSU Soccer Field.

The Gamecocks, who opened a key Ohio Valley Conference home weekend set, dropped to 3-8-2 on the season and 1-4 in OVC action.  The Bruins improved to 5-5-2 overall and 3-2-1 in league play.  JSU will look to bounce back on Sunday as it hosts the Skyhawks of UT Martin at the JSU Soccer Field.  Match time is set for 1 p.m.  Admission is free to all home matches.

BU's eventual game winner came two minutes in to the final half as Julie Garst used solid footwork to dribble it from the midfield spot past the JSU defense before sending it to the back of the net in the 47th minute.

"We made one mistake in the second half and it cost us and we lost the momentum that we had from the first half.  I give the girls credit, we continued to go for it and get ourselves back in the game.  This one is hard to take because we felt like we were the better team," said head coach Neil Macdonald.

The Gamecocks created many chances in the opening 45 minutes with nine of their 15 shots coming in the first half.  The Bruins, who were limited to four shots in the first half, added 12 in the second half to post a one-shot, 16-15, advantage in total shots in the contest.

"I thought we were the better team in the first half and we created a lot of chances, we just didn't take them," added Macdonald.  From a team performance it was excellent and we made one error, which was the difference in the game."

Junior Emma Meadows finished with a team-high four shots, including two on goal chances.  Junior Rachel Blanding added three shots, while Cheyenne Carden tallied two shots.

"I thought Cheyenne (Carden) had a great game tonight and she really worked the left side for us really well throughout the game.  Claire (Petersen) and Emma (Meadows) were once again fantastic in the middle," added Macdonald.

Kameron Ziesig paced the Bruins with five shots off the bench.

UTM will come to campus with momentum after downing the Racers of Murray State on Friday, 3-1, in Martin, Tenn.

Live stats will be available at JSUGamecockSports.com.