LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Lindenwood University field hockey team scored a pair of goals early in the second half and held off Bellarmine's comeback bid to defeat the Knights 3-2 on Saturday at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium in Eastern College Athletic Conference play.

Freshman forward April Paulson tallied a goal and an assist for Bellarmine (1-5, 0-3 ECAC), while fellow freshman forward Mandi Isom notched her first collegiate goal. Senior forward Helena Varga collected an assist against Lindenwood (3-0, 2-0), which got a pair of goals from Bridget Hoogendijk.

Lindenwood opened the scoring in the 17th minute on a goal by Shelby Pierson, but Bellarmine answered in the 27th minute as Paulson gathered a pass from Varga and deposited her second goal of the season to knot the score at 1-1 at halftime.

Lindenwood scored twice in the opening minutes of the second half, with Hoogendijk delivering both goals. They came roughly two minutes apart, the first off a rebound and the second off a cross toward the front of the cage for a 3-1 lead.

Bellarmine made sure to make the rest of the match interesting, though, as Isom banged in a feed from Paulson to slice the deficit to 3-2 in the 41st minute. Neither team would score from there as the Lions managed to turn back the Knights.

Lindenwood finished with a 19-3 advantage in shots, including 12-3 on frame. Bellarmine sophomore goalkeeper Heather Gregory racked up nine saves.

Bellarmine plays neutral-site matches on Sept. 23 and 24 at Lindenwood against Mercy College and Queens Charlotte.

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