SEAFORD, N.Y.—Despite a dominating performance on the field by the Bellarmine field hockey team, the scoreboard read just 4-0 in favor of the Knights as they rolled past the Molloy Lions today at Cedar Creek Park.
 
Bellarmine controlled every aspect of the game, outshooting the Lions an astounding 59-0.  However, the Molloy defense was able to keep the score respectable by coming up with 35 saves—three of which were defensive saves by Ellyn Byrnes with the remaining 32 coming by the Lions' goalie duo of Arianna Ovadia (29 saves) and Amanda Mesas (3 saves).
 
For the second game in a row, the Knights got two goals from Elle Lichte, which Coach Mark Blankenbaker said is a great sign for his team. 
 
"Elle had a great weekend, and played great defense," Blankenbaker said. "She's established herself as a field leader and now a scorer, and that's exciting for the future."
 
Senior Kathryn Schneidtmiller matched Lichte's offensive production, also registering a pair of goals against the Lions. She now has a team-leading 11 goals on the season.
 
"We came out focused to start the game and continued for 70 minutes," said Blankenbaker about his team's dominance. "Our passing today was the highlight. We had beautiful teamwork and receptions…the best I've seen from a Bellarmine team."
 
 "I'm excited to get a shutout," Blankenbaker added, "because our defense and mid-line really controlled the play and kept Mulloy from establishing an attack."
 
The offensive dominance is best illustrated in reviewing Bellarmine's stat sheet which included 59 shots, 39 shots on goal, and 27 penalty corners.  Molloy, on the other hand, had zeroes across the board.
 
"Molloy's goalie was outstanding," Blankenbaker said, "but we need to do a better job of finding space in the cage to increase our goal production."  
 
Blankenbaker also expressed concern over fundamental mistakes resulting in cards being issued. "Those mistakes were mostly mental and came from being aggressive, but we need to clean those up," he said.
 
With the win, the Knights improve to 9-5 on the season.  Molloy, which is in its inaugural year of field hockey, slips to 1-9.
 
Bellarmine has just four more games remaining in the regular season—all on the road. Next up for the Knights is a grueling three-day stretch beginning on Oct. 21 when they'll face Newberry, Belmont Abbey and Limestone on consecutive days.
 
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BOX SCORE (HTM)