NEWBERRY, S.C.—The Bellarmine Knights field hockey team suffered a 3-1 loss at the hands of Newberry College on Sunday afternoon at Setzler Field.
 
The game came down to a strong second quarter for the host Wolves when they outshot Bellarmine 7-1 and notched two of their three goals.  The remaining three quarters favored the Knights statistically as both teams ended with 13 shots on the day while Newberry owned a 9-8 edge in corners.
 
Both Newberry second quarter goals came on penalty corners with Kristyna Oyola and Chantel Gauthier credited with the goals.  Gauthier's goal came off a severe angle when she was able to redirect a hard smash from teammate Brady Keeler.
 
The host Wolves increased their lead to 3-0 late in the third period when Oyola got position in front of the Bellarmine goal and tapped in a pass from Farai Kawonde.
 
The Knights avoided a shutout by converting on a penalty corner early in the fourth quarter.  Merit Harris ripped a shot from the left side of the circle that bounded off the goalie pads, but Lindsay Reynolds collected the rebound and got the ball to Lindsay Sturgeon, who slipped it past Newberry goalie Shannon Springer for her first collegiate goal.
 
One bright spot for the Knights was the defensive play of freshman Alexa Rastigue, who registered two defensive saves on the day to give her five on the season. Heading into this weekend's play, five defensive saves ranked second in the country with four other players owning that total. Jessica Strassburg of Franklin Pierce leads the nation with seven.
 
Bellarmine falls to 8-7 on the season while Newberry improves to 11-4.
 
The Knights close out their regular season next Saturday at Lindenwood. However, Bellarmine's season will continue into the following weekend as the Knights will host a postseason round-robin tournament for Division II independent schools. 
 
Joining Bellarmine will be Frostburg and Lindenwood for the independent tourney.  The event will kick off with Bellarmine taking on Lindenwood at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 8.  Frostburg will face the Lions on Saturday with Bellarmine and Frostburg closing out the tourney on Sunday.  (Sunday's game time and location are still pending Bellarmine's potential hosting of Great Lakes Valley Conference men's and women's soccer tournament games.)
 
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