INDIANA, Pa.—For the Bellarmine field hockey team, playing Indiana University of Pennsylvania has meant "instant classics" the past two years.
Last year the Knights pulled out a 3-2 win on literally the last play of the game. On Saturday afternoon, the Bellarmine squad was facing a 1-0 shutout heading into the final eight minutes of the game but got two late goals from sophomore forward
Mandi Isom to pull out another thrilling victory over the Crimson Hawks.
Today's game was a tale of two halves. In the first period, the host Crimson Hawks dominated the offensive statistics, holding a 1-0 lead on the scoreboard and 10-1 shot advantage after the first 35 minutes.
"I thought we played well in the first half," Bellarmine Coach
Mark Blankenbaker said, "but we didn't manage the clock well, which led to the IUP goal. We talked at the half about what we need to improve, and the players took it to heart."
When play resumed, the Knights came out firing. In fact, Bellarmine outshot IUP 10-1 in the second period as the teams finished with 11 shots apiece.
The Knights came up empty on the their first seven shots after halftime, but Isom finally found the back of the cage as she converted a short shot off a pass from the left wing by
April Paulson.
A short time later, Isom got loose on a breakaway, and after IUP goalie Olivia Accardi stopped her first shot, she recovered the rebound and delivered the eventual game-winning goal.
"What a second half performance!" exclaimed Blankenbaker after the game. "The desire to win was evident, and we hustled all over the field. I am proud of the girls for never giving up and playing until the last minute."
Blankenbaker lauded the offensive play of
Merit Harris,
Alex Hill along with Isom and Paulson, but thought the Bellarmine defense was a big part of the victory. "Our defense was stellar," he said. "
Heather Gregory (six saves) was huge for us in cage." He added that defensive players
Storm Thompson,
Caroline Krill,
Sara Wilder and
Lorna Screen "all played key roles today and kept IUP off balance."
The Knights improve to 2-1 on the season while IUP starts the season 0-1. Bellarmine is back in action tomorrow at 11 a.m. when they'll take on Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pennsylvania.
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