LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The eighth-ranked Bellarmine University women's soccer team and Southern Indiana played to a scoreless tie on Sunday at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium in Great Lakes Valley Conference play.

Senior goalkeeper Taylor Smith and the defense recorded their second shutout of the season for the Knights (2-1-2, 1-1-2 GLVC). Southern Indiana (3-2-1, 1-1-1) dealt the Knights their second straight shutout as Bellarmine engaged in a double-overtime affair for the fourth time in five matches.

Bellarmine was coming off a physical, hard-to-swallow 1-0 loss in double overtime to undefeated McKendree on Friday, while Southern Indiana was idle.

"I thought that was a fantastic effort from our players," Bellarmine Coach Chris Tinius said. "This was a difficult weekend. We played two good teams. We had almost 20 extra minutes on Friday and the disappointment of a last-second loss. Today we faced a fresh team that was off on Friday, and we were able to get through another 20 extra minutes. I'm very proud of our kids."

Bellarmine had a pair of scares in the second overtime. A loose ball nearly found its way into the Knights' net before deflecting off the post. Then, for a moment, it appeared as if USI delivered the golden goal on a one-touch off a free kick, but the officials quickly waved it off due to offsides.

Bellarmine finished with a 15-12 advantage in shots. Both teams had four on goal. The Knights had a 5-3 edge in attempts in the first half and 9-6 in the second half, but the Screaming Eagles had a 3-1 edge in opportunities in the extra frames. Smith and USI goalkeeper Emily Hopkins both had four saves.

"The Grand Valley win (in the season opener) was probably the worst thing that could have happened to this young team," Tinius said. "We were extremely focused and committed to the process of improving during preseason. We knew we had a lot to figure out. Then one early win and simultaneously we let down because we think we solved it all in one night, and other teams are even more focused on beating us. This was the first time since that night that I feel like we had close to the same effort and buy-in from start to finish."

Bellarmine plays next Sunday at Indianapolis. The Knights are idle on Friday.

"This will be an important week," Tinius said. "Now we get a bye on Friday, which means extra time to train and time to improve. You don't get that very often in college soccer so we need to take advantage of it."

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