However, the Lady Tigers still had enough firepower to deal the Waco Midway Pantherettes their first loss.
Senior forward Michelle Hagen scored a pair of goals - the second on a penalty kick - and Midway rarely threatened as Belton cruised to a 2-1 victory Tuesday night in its home opener at chilly Wilson-Kerzee Field.
The Lady Tigers (3-0-2) tallied almost 30 shots and dictated the action from start to finish, limiting the Pantherettes (3-1) to only five shots to stay unbeaten heading into this weekend’s Richardson Berkner tournament.
“Being undefeated after five games is not something I expected,” Belton coach Barry Elkins said. “I expected that we might have to learn from some losses, but that’s something that we just haven’t had to do. And that’s good, because nobody likes losing.”
Utilizing the ball control skills of Hagen and senior forward Chelsea Jones and the speed of sophomore forward Jourdan Brown, the Lady Tigers peppered Pantherettes goalkeeper Rebecca Dietrick with 17 first-half shots but struggled to find the back of the net.
The only goal of the half came when Brown lofted the ball toward the goal, where Dietrick misplayed the short hop and Hagen rolled it in for a 1-0 lead in the 14th minute.
Hagen and Jones, a pair of offensive juggernauts the past two seasons, combined for 14 of the Lady Tigers’ first-half shots - including one by Hagen that Dietrick jumped to tip over the crossbar and a point-blank shot by Jones that deflected off Dietrick’s face.
“We do need other players to gain experience to be able to step up and play at a higher speed,” Elkins said of his team’s inability to capitalize on scoring chances. “Jourdan is great down the line and on her crosses, but finishing is something she’s not used to being called on to do.
“And we’ll probably need some more midfield players to step up and make sure we’re supporting our forwards and not just leaving them up there.”
Midway was the aggressor to start the second half, but its best chance was thwarted when Belton sophomore keeper Kelsi Darr made a leaping grab of a free kick just six minutes after intermission.
The Lady Tigers got their attack back on track and, after Jones was pushed down from behind in front of the goal, Hagen drilled the ensuing penalty into the lower-left corner for a 2-0 cushion.
The Pantherettes had only three shots the rest of the way, the last of which came with 1:50 remaining when Mallory Zander banged the ball in off the top post to cap the scoring.
“In the first half, we did so well on the attack that we kept them on the defensive,” Elkins said. “In the second half, I thought it was the improved play of our midfield that kept them from having many chances.
“I’m pleased overall with how we played, but there are obviously some lessons we have to learn."
edrennan@temple-telegram.com
