LOUISVILLE, Ky.—A couple of clutch plays by the host Knights staked Bellarmine to a 3-2 win over intrastate rival Centre College today in an exhibition game at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium.
 
Sophomore Merit Harris scored the game-winning goal with 7:43 remaining as she corralled a pass from Elle Lichte and rifled a backhanded shot from the left side of the box past Centre goalie Kirsten Mulcahy for the score.
 
The play of the game, however, could have been turned in by Bellarmine goalie Heather Gregory when she successfully defended a penalty stroke about 10 minutes into the second half.
 
Although Bellarmine never trailed in the contest, the visiting Colonels were a formidable opponent, outshooting the Knights 11-9 and owning a 6-1 advantage in penalty corners.
 
"Our play was a little unorganized in the first half," said Bellarmine Coach Mark Blankenbaker, "but we settled down after halftime and executed several good runs. One of our goals today was to play everyone and try players at different positions to see where we could use them during the year, and I'm sure that was, in part, one of the early issues getting organized."
 
The Knights eventually broke open the scoreless game 10:29 into the contest. Freshman April Paulson scored from right side of the circle after she collected a pass from Lichte that had been deflected by the Centre defense.
 
The Colonels knotted the score at one apiece when they converted on their fourth penalty corner of the game with 11:57 remaining in the half.  The Knights' Lorna Screen recorded back-to-back defensive saves on two previous Centre corners.
 
Neither team mounted much of an offensive threat in the final 11:57 and the teams settled for a 1-1 tie at intermission.
 
Coming out of the break, the Knights wasted little time getting on the board as Megan Carney worked her way to the front left of the cage and re-directed a ball off the stick of Mandi Isom to give the Knights a 2-1 lead.
 
The Colonels battled back to tie game at 2-2 when Savannah Elpers took a pass from Peyton Baer just in front of the cage and poked the ball past Gregory in the game's 56th minute.
 
After the Harris goal gave the Knights the lead for good, Bellarmine held the Colonels without a shot the rest of the game.
 
Overall, Blankenbaker was pleased with the Bellarmine effort. "The freshmen played well for their first game, and we look forward to them getting better each week. The older players looked good and did a great job of trying to keep us organized in the second half. I'm happy we got in a game against a really good Centre team; it will help us prepare to start the season next weekend."
 
Today's game was Bellarmine's lone exhibition match as the Knights hit the road to start the regular season next week. The first game is a neutral site game in St. Charles, Missouri on Sept. 2 against Indiana University of Pennsylvania with their conference opener the next day at Lindenwood University.