LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Bellarmine University men's soccer team absorbed an early onslaught by top-ranked Rockhurst, pushed back to within a goal but ultimately was edged 2-1 by the Hawks on Friday at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium in Great Lakes Valley Conference play.

Senior defender Zach Digan scored on a penalty kick for Bellarmine (4-7-1, 3-6 GLVC), but Rockhurst (10-0-1, 8-0-1) remained unbeaten by scoring twice inside the first 16 minutes.

Rockhurst's Gianluca Bottoni scored in the sixth minute on a brilliantly executed shot. From the right side, he bent a free kick from 22 yards into the top left corner of the net for a 1-0 lead.

The Hawks made it 2-0 in the 16th minute. Kaleb Jackson tracked down a long lead pass from Chi Ngwefang toward the right of the box, dribbled left and sank his shot for a 2-0 lead.

Bellarmine answered in the 19th minute. The Knights were fouled in the box, and Digan buried the ensuing penalty kick to trim the deficit to 2-1.

While both teams had their chances, that was the end of the scoring. In the second half, freshman forward Tomas Bernedo made a terrific back-kick off a corner, but Rockhurst goalkeeper Logan Feldmann had aligned himself perfectly to make the save.

Rockhurst finished with a 12-10 advantage in shots, but the Knights held a 6-5 edge in shots on goal. Both teams attempted two corner kicks.

Bellarmine hosts William Jewell at 2:30 p.m. (ET) Sunday.

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BOX SCORE (HTM)