LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Bellarmine University field hockey team nearly pulled off its second straight upset of a top-10 opponent before falling in heartbreaking fashion Friday night at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium.

Facing a 2-0 deficit to No. 10 Limestone at halftime, the Knights rallied to tie in the second half behind freshman midfielder Alexa Rastigue's first two collegiate goals, but the Saints were able to win 3-2 in dramatic fashion after scoring the golden goal with 22 seconds left in overtime.

Bellarmine (1-2) fell 4-0 to No. 3 East Stroudsburg in its season opener, but the Knights stood toe to toe with two other ranked opponents in their last two matches. Bellarmine defeated No. 9 Bloomsburg 2-1 in overtime Sunday and nearly completed a stirring comeback against former conference rival Limestone (3-0).

"This was a tough loss for our team, but we gained a lot of confidence that we will take into the remainder of the season," Bellarmine Coach Devanny Boisvert said. "We will definitely take momentum into Sunday's (home) game against Frostburg."

After trailing 2-0 at the intermission, Bellarmine cut its deficit in half in the third period. There was a deflection that popped into the air off a shot off a penalty corner, and Rastigue swatted it into the net for her first collegiate goal in the 40th minute.

With less than five minutes remaining in regulation, Rastigue scored the tying goal. After freshman forward Teresa Schmidt fired from the top of the circle off a penalty corner, junior forward Mandi Isom tapped to Rastigue near the left post, and she drove her second goal into the net.

Sophomore goalkeeper Breanna McWhorter entered for Bellarmine after halftime and had a whale of a game. She piled up 10 saves and shut out Limestone in the second half. Her counterpart, Daisy Ruhle, was also busy in the cage and tallied 11 saves.

"Limestone is always a competitive games for us; they have quick skills and attack within the 25," Boisvert said. "Our girls fought hard to come back from that two-goal deficit by keeping our composure. Alexa did a great job executing our post position on our corners, and Bre had several key saves that really allowed us to keep up our high-tempo game. (Senior midfielder) Merit (Harris) generated our midfield attack; she was quick to get around Limestone's pressure and defensively she did a great job at stopping them in transition."

Unfortunately for McWhorter and the Knights, Limestone's walk-off goal came immediately after she reached double digits in saves. Inside the final minute of the overtime session, Keaghan Keracher scored off a rebound of a McWhorter save.

Particularly in the second half, the action was furious. For the contest, Limestone held a 22-17 advantage in shots — 15-13 on goal — but Bellarmine had a 14-12 edge in penalty corners.

Kate Remley scored for Limestone in the first period and assisted to Thando Muchemenyi in the second quarter as the Saints went into the break with a 2-0 lead.

Bellarmine hosts Frostburg State at 11 a.m. (ET) Sunday.

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