LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Newberry built a two-goal lead in the second half and fended off the comeback attempt of the Bellarmine University field hockey team to capture a 3-2 victory over the Knights on Saturday at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium.

The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for Bellarmine (5-2), which played on extremely short rest after its Friday afternoon contest with Mercy didn't end until the late evening due to multiple weather delays. Newberry (3-2) hadn't played since Sept. 8 and appeared fresh instead of rusty.

The Wolves seemed to harness that energy into an early goal. Mariah Lee sank a shot off a penalty corner after a feed from Megan Eisenhardt just over five minutes into the match.

Sophomore midfielder Alex Hill scored both of Bellarmine's goals. She tied the match at 1 in the 23rd minute after redirecting a shot from junior midfielder Merit Harris following a penalty corner insert from senior defender Caroline Krill, who had a defensive save.

Newberry responded less than a minute later when Brady Keeler crossed to Victoria Corriston in front of the net for the quick score and 2-1 lead. The Wolves would then take a 3-1 advantage after halftime as Kristyna Oyola batted in a rebound for a pivotal insurance goal in the 53rd minute.

"We started the game with very little energy and played flat-footed," Bellarmine Coach Mark Blankenbaker said. "Newberry out-cut us to a lot of the 50/50 balls. Once we were down 1-0, we did a nice job of coming back to tie it up. We talk every week about the couple of minutes after a goal being a critical time — that was never more true than today. Newberry made a series of good passes and scored their second goal in less than a minute. Lack of mental focus contributed to that goal."

Bellarmine cut its deficit in half in the 58th minute as Hill fired a shot inside the far post from the left wing. The pair of scores boosted Hill's total to three on the season.

Bellarmine made it interesting at the end. The Knights had a penalty corner and three shots inside the final two minutes, including one by Harris just ahead of the final buzzer, but Wolves goalkeeper Allison Davis delivered her seventh save to seal the win.

"We played better in the second half," Blankenbaker said. "We had more energy and our passing and receiving was better. I thought after the timeout with about 18 minutes left, we controlled play; we just could not get the ball in the cage. Alex Hill had another good game with two goals, and she played well in the field."

There was plenty of action in the match, as both teams finished with 16 shots. The Knights had 10 shots on goal and the Wolves had eight.

Bellarmine plays Saturday, Sept. 29, at Queens Charlotte. That contest starts a five-game road stretch.

"This team is unique in that they will learn from this game and work to eliminate the errors we made today and move forward," Blankenbaker said.

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