LOUISVILLE, Ky.—An old coaching maxim is good defense leads to good offense, and the Bellarmine field hockey team certainly proved that to be the case as the Knights blanked visiting Belmont Abbey 2-0 on Thursday evening in Owsley B. Frazier Stadium. 
 
The Bellarmine defense clamped down and severely limited the scoring opportunities for the Crusaders with Belmont Abbey being credited for just two shots in the entire game.   The Knights offense also was slowed a bit, managing just 10 total shots, but eight were on frame with senior Merit Harris scoring both goals for the Knights.
 
The first score came in the second quarter when Harris collected a pass near the top of the circle, drove to her right and fired a shot from distance that found its way to the back of the cage. The second score came off a strong attack by Mandi Isom.  Her shot was saved by the Crusader goalie, but Harris was in position to collect the rebound and deliver the shot in the left portion of the goal.
 
"I am really happy with our performance tonight," said Bellarmine Coach Devanny Boisvert. "We possessed the ball well, were patient on defense and had some quick transitions. This was our first shutout of the season, which is an area we've been focusing on. I am proud of the defense and goalies' work to make that happen. Mariana Flores Gutierrez was very productive as our center back tonight. She created a lot of attack and was very deceptive with her free hits, which is an area we worked on this week."
 
The Knights had a leg up in most statistics, outshooting Belmont Abbey 10-2 with a 9-4 edge in penalty corners.  Bellarmine goalies Heather Gregory and Breanna McWhorter combined for the shutout without having to make a save.  However, the pair did make several strong plays to thwart Crusader scoring opportunities before shots could be taken.
 
Harris upped her team leading scoring total to 10 goals this season and passed a trio of former Knights to take over 12th on the Bellarmine all-times goals list with 29.
 
Merit has continued to be a offensive threat for us and has been controlling the midfield line," Boisvert said.
 
The Knights close their 2019 home schedule with games on Saturday against Newberry and on Sunday against Lindenwood.  Saturday's game, scheduled for a 3 p.m. start, will feature senior day ceremonies before the game.
 
"Starting the weekend off with a win was huge for us," Boisvert said. "We have two more huge games to focus on but I couldn't be more proud of this group."
 
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