LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Mary Beth Gorham scored two goals before she could truly break a sweat.

On Sunday at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium, Gorham scored twice inside the first four minutes as the Bellarmine University women's soccer team cruised to a 2-0 win over Hanover College in the Knights' first exhibition of the 2015 season.

The contest marked Bellarmine's first game-like action since the Midwest Region semifinals of the Division II NCAA Tournament. Hanover advanced to the D-III NCAA Tournament last season.

After leading Bellarmine in goals in each of her first two seasons, Gorham didn't waste any time getting in goal-scoring mode for this go-around. In the third minute, from the left side, the junior forward took a cross from junior midfielder Lauren Holder and deposited a shot inside the far post.



The goal came on Bellarmine's first shot of the exhibition season. And the second score came on the Knights' second shot of the preseason.

Again it came from Gorham. This time junior midfielder Sydney Kraus made a strong lead pass that Gorham tracked down toward the right of the goal box. The two-time All-Midwest Region selection whizzed her shot into the right corner of the net for a 2-0 lead in the fourth minute.

"In the first five minutes, the two goals came from things we directly talked about in training and they carried over to the field," BU Coach Chris Tinius said.

Gorham echoed her coach's sentiment.

"It was really the movement by all our different players, and the ball was put in the right spot," she said. "It was nice to see the ball go in the back of the net."

The early fireworks subsided, with Bellarmine unable to find the net again. However, the Knights allowed Hanover a minimum of good looks. BU took nine shots to the six of the Panthers, and the Knights held a 5-2 edge in shots on goal.

Tinius substituted liberally during the game. Bellarmine's roster contains 11 new players, so plenty of collegiate preseason debuts were made.

"It's been a process and it's going to continue to be a process," Tinius said. "There's going to be ebbs and flows in every game, but they seemed to be more sustained today. Part of that is on me. With all the new faces, we're mixing and matching. At times, it can be hard for them to be comfortable playing together, but in the long run I think we'll be better because they're getting used to each other."

Bellarmine utilized three goalkeepers, each playing one-third of the game. Sophomore Taylor Smith started, junior Hannah Poteet entered next and senior Erin Ottman closed out the shutout. Ottman had both of BU's saves. Goalie Morgan Cole played the entire game for Hanover, corralling three saves.

Bellarmine will host Centre College at 7 p.m. (ET) Tuesday in Owsley B. Frazier Stadium in its second exhibition.

BOX SCORE (PDF)

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