ST. LOUIS—Missouri Baptist Women's Soccer finally broke through on the scoresheet on Thursday night before ultimately falling in a 3-1 defeat to highly touted Bethel University (Tenn.).
 
In a first half bereft of legitimate scoring chances for either team, Bethel managed to make the most of the few opportunities they did have. It took just three minutes for Janine Dennis to put the visitors ahead 1-0. A cross bounced off several boots in the box before trickling into the path of Dennis on the back post. The Wildcats' leading goal scorer tapped it home for an early advantage.
 
The next 43 minutes passed without much action before Bethel doubled their lead against the run of the play. With just over a minute to play in the first half, Jodi Butler snuck one by Jemica Artillaga to send Bethel into halftime ahead 2-0.
 
The Spartans showed signs of life in the second half but before they could cut the deficit in half, it was Janine Dennis again putting her name of the scoresheet for Bethel. This time, the junior took a through ball for a breakaway and slotted it past Artillaga for her eighth goal of the season.
 
The three-goal cushion wouldn't last long though. Just two minutes later, a pass from Allie Heinz deflected into the box. As Riley Janvrin attempted to head it home, she was run over by Bethel goalkeeper Shanay Ricketts. The referee awarded a penalty and Nicole Talley stepped forward to take it. The junior made no mistake from the spot and recorded the Spartans' first goal of 2019.
 
Unfortunately for MBU, Talley's goal would put a cap on the scoring. Neither side could break through in the final 20 minutes. Bethel remained unbeaten at 4-0-1 and the Spartans dropped to 0-6.
 
The positive news for Missouri Baptist is that Thursday's match put an end to non-conference play. The AMC schedule begins on Tuesday when Mo. Bap travels down 64-East to Harris-Stowe. The Spartans went 10-0-2 in conference play in 2018 after an 0-4-2 start against non-conference foes. Kickoff on Tuesday is scheduled for 1 pm.