LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Bellarmine University field hockey team made sure Senior Day was a celebratory occasion.

Senior forward Helena Varga and senior midfielder Lillie Nitzken collected goals while senior forward Megan Carney contributed an assist as the Knights defeated short-handed Belmont Abbey 4-0 on Saturday at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium in their regular-season finale to clinch the No. 3 seed in the Eastern College Athletic Conference Tournament.

"I was so happy to win on Senior Day," Bellarmine Coach Mark Blankenbaker said. "It is tough to come out and play with intensity after stopping the warm-up and all the emotions involved. Our seniors came out and wanted to prove that we could play well and finish strong to get ready for the conference tournament."

Sophomore forward Merit Harris continued her prolific scoring of late, notching a pair of goals for Bellarmine (8-10, 5-5 ECAC). Nitzken also had an assist against the Crusaders (7-11, 2-8) as did freshman forward Kayla Jabkowski and junior midfielder Caroline Krill.

Belmont Abbey delivered a gutsy performance. The Crusaders played Friday night in St. Charles, Missouri, against Lindenwood before meeting the Knights on Saturday afternoon. On top of that, Belmont Abbey began the match against Bellarmine with 12 available players, but two were injured in the first half limiting the Crusaders to only 10 players in the second half. Belmont Abbey at times played with nine.

Varga recorded what stood as the game-winning goal in the 12th minute. Nitzken located her in the middle of the circle, and she sank her second goal of the season for a 1-0 lead.

Bellarmine had 12 shots in the first half, but Varga's was the only one that found the net. However, that wasn't the case in the second half as Harris scored less than three minutes after the intermission. Carney found her near the left post, and Harris converted for a 2-0 lead.

Belmont Abbey had the chance to cut Bellarmine's lead in half in the 49th minute, but sophomore goalkeeper Heather Gregory batted away Nicole Wong's penalty shot. Gregory and the defense earned their fourth shutout of the season and second in a row. Senior defender Mary Ringwald helped preserve the blanking with a defensive save late in the proceedings following a penalty corner.

Harris scored again in the 51st minute when Jabkowski found her near the far post, and she tucked away her team-best 10th goal of the season for a 3-0 advantage. Harris has racked up seven goals over her last four matches.

Nitzken capped the scoring in the 56th minute when she rifled in a shot from the top of the circle off an insert from Krill on a penalty corner. It was Nitzken's second goal of the season.

"Merit had a great weekend and is playing well on both sides of the ball," Blankenbaker said. "Lillie and Helena did a great job finishing in the circle. Getting an early lead helps settle the nerves. Our passing game has gotten so much better in the past couple of weeks. That has helped our attack get more opportunities."  

Bellarmine finished with a 23-2 advantage in shots, including 10-2 on goal. The Knights had 12 penalty corners to just one for the Crusaders.

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