LEBANON, Ill. — Throw out the aesthetics and hail the mental and physical toughness.

On Friday at previously unbeaten McKendree, the Bellarmine University women's soccer team got a goal from freshman midfielder Lauren Mackey late in the first half, and the Knights proceeded to grind out a crucial 1-0 victory over the reigning Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament champion.

"Well, it was a sloppy game at times — I think both teams could have played better — but it was also beautiful at the same time," Bellarmine Coach Chris Tinius said. "Even though our soccer wasn't great, a lot of the other things we've talked about with regard to focus and fighting for each other came together as the 90 minutes progressed, and it got us a big result." 

Mackey scored her first collegiate goal for Bellarmine (4-2-1, 2-0-1 GLVC) as the Knights handed the Bearcats (5-1, 2-1) their first loss of the season. The goal came in the 40th minute to give Bellarmine momentum at halftime.

"We had a lot of people play specific roles that were necessary for this particular game and they stepped up," Tinius said. "This is a day where naming one or two people would leave out too many that deserve recognition, so I'm not even going to try, but it was fun to watch that kind of fight tonight."

Sophomore goalkeeper Elyssa Francis racked up 10 saves for the second straight game. The Knights and Bearcats were astoundingly accurate with their shots — five of Bellarmine's six were on frame and 10 of McKendree's 12 were on target.

Bellarmine's defense notched its fourth shutout, with all four coming over the last five matches. That defense, and the Knights as a whole, will face another stern challenge as the team plays at 1 p.m. (ET) Sunday at Southern Indiana.

"We said before the game the only thing separating these two teams over the last five years was a moment or two in each game," Tinius said. "Tonight we won a couple that mattered and ended up on the right side of things. We hope to play better on Sunday, but this type of fight is what will be most important."

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