LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The Bellarmine University field hockey team took a 1-0 exhibition victory over in-state rival Centre College today at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium. 

In what was the Knights' final tune-up before the regular season, Bellarmine proved to be the much more aggressive team in outshooting the Colonels 8-2 while owning a 6-1 advantage in penalty corners.

The lone goal came off one of those penalty corners when senior captain Aimee Ilgenfritz collected a shot off the pads of Centre goalie Kirby Roberts and re-directed the ball into the lower right portion of the cage.

Due to extremely hot and humid conditions, the game was changed from the traditional two 35-minute halves into a game with four 15-minute quarters. The teams also played a five-minute, seven-on-seven period after the game during which Kelsey O'Bryan and Kathryn Schneidtmiller also registered goals for the Knights.

Coach Mark Blankenbaker said he thought his team performed well despite being physically sore from preseason conditioning. "Coming to the end of the preseason," Blankenbaker said, "we need to get our legs back to get ready for the start of the season next weekend. Overall, I'm excited that we played all 20 field players in random rotations and had an even result on the field."

The Bellarmine coach also saw room for growth. "We need to improve on defense between the 25s to slow the attack," he said. "Our young defense is still learning, and I really like that they ask a lot of questions."  

Offensively, Blankenbaker liked what he saw. "The attack is well-balanced," he said. "We just need to focus on fundamentals this week. Centre is a good team, and I'm happy they came up and really challenged us today."

Bellarmine opens the regular season on Saturday, Sept. 3 with a home game at 11 a.m. against Seton Hill.