LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Once again, the Bellarmine University women's soccer team scored two early goals. The Knights also duplicated their effort on defense, which received the most praise from Coach Chris Tinius.

"The shutout was probably the best part of the night," he said following Bellarmine's 2-0 victory Tuesday over Centre College in an exhibition game at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium.

Freshman midfielder Polly Marino and freshman defender Caroline Lee each scored a goal for Bellarmine, which also defeated Hanover College 2-0 on Sunday in its first exhibition. Junior forward Mary Beth Gorham, who scored both goals against the Panthers, notched an assist against the Colonels as did junior midfielder Sydney Kraus. Both Hanover and Centre made the Division III NCAA Tournament last season.



Bellarmine scored twice inside the first four minutes against Hanover, and the Knights burned Centre early as well. In the fifth minute, Gorham crossed to Marino, who deposited the open look from the right side into the net for a quick 1-0 lead.

Not much later, Bellarmine made it 2-0. In the 23rd minute, Kraus followed a pair of near misses by the Knights after a corner kick by serving a pass into the center of the box, where Lee was waiting. She punched a header into the net to give Kraus her second assist of the preseason.

"It was good to see the freshmen get a couple goals not only for their confidence, but for the confidence of the entire group," Tinius said. "We've scored four goals this preseason, and they've all been pretty good goals.

"I think those things usually go in spurts," he added of early scores. "You're not going to start every game like that, but it's been nice to start two like that."

Bellarmine dominated the shot count, 15-4, including 7-1 on shots on goal. However, 10 of the Knights' shots came in the first half. Despite a heavier workload in the second half, BU's defense limited Centre to two shots, same as the first half.

"The first half was a step forward from Sunday; the second half for us was not," Tinius said. "Our rate of possession was way too low — way too many needless giveaways. Centre probably deserved better out of the second half than what they got. The fact that we were able to keep our shape and keep the shutout with the pressure they were putting on us and the pressure we were creating for ourselves, to see the zeroes stay on the board under Centre's name was probably the best part of the night."

As it did against Hanover, Bellarmine utilized three goalkeepers, each playing roughly one-third of the game. Junior Hannah Poteet started before senior Kate Fitzgerald entered while sophomore Taylor Smith closed out the shutout. BU needed only one save, with Fitzgerald tallying it. Olivia Alford had three of Centre's five saves.

Bellarmine will host fellow Division II competitor Saginaw Valley State in a scrimmage at noon (ET) Saturday at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium. Due to NCAA rules regarding the publicizing of preseason games classified as scrimmages, there will be no pregame, in-game or postgame coverage by the BU sports information staff.

For more coverage of Bellarmine athletics, follow us on Twitter (@BUKnights), Instagram (BUKnights) and Facebook (BUKnights).

BOX SCORE (PDF)