CONCORD—The fourth-ranked Saint Anselm Hawks snapped a six-game win streak for the Bellarmine field hockey team by taking a 2-0 decision over the Knights at Grappone Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Knights became the 12th shutout victim of the vaunted Saint Anselm defense, which leads the nation in goals against average.
Bellarmine had difficulty pushing the ball into its offensive end and saw the Hawks outshoot them 23-1 on the day. The Knights drew just two penalty corners while Saint Anselm was awarded 17 on the day.
"Today was a tough game for us," said Bellarmine Coach
Devanny Boisvert. "We never got into our rhythm of play and didn't make our adjustments quick enough to make a difference. St. Anselm is a quick and talented team that had a mission today. They stay low and are very skilled with their stick work. We had trouble with our free hits and connecting our passes. Although we were outshot and struggled with the momentum, we still kept the no. 4 team in DII field hockey to a score of 0-2."
The teams went into halftime scoreless with the Hawks finally breaking through for a score early in the third quarter before tacking on an insurance goal in the game's 43rd minute.
Bellarmine goalies
Heather Gregory and
Breanna McWhorter combined for 14 saves on the day.
"Heather had some amazing saves in the first half, keeping us 0-0 going into halftime," Boisvert said. "Bre was our closer today. She stopped two strokes and was scoreless in the last quarter.
The Knights fall to 7-3 on the season while Saint Anselm improves to 12-1.
Next up for Bellarmine is a return home where they will host Belmont Abbey, Newberry and Lindenwood on Oct. 17, 19 and 20.
"We have a big week of field hockey coming up," Boisvert said. "We are finally back to our home turf and we get to celebrate our seven seniors. Our focus is now on our three home games this upcoming weekend."
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