KIRKSVILLE, Mo. — No. 27 was good from 27.

On Sunday at Stokes Stadium, junior midfielder Samantha Ferry buried a shot from distance in the second overtime as the Bellarmine University women's soccer team pulled off a thrilling 1-0 victory over Truman State in Great Lakes Valley Conference play.

"Whew," Knights Coach Chris Tinius said, "I guess we can take a breath now!"

Make that a deep and satisfying breath. A back to back set of games on the road at Quincy and at Truman State is traditionally one of the most challenging pair of contests the GLVC has to offer. Bellarmine (6-2, 3-2 GLVC) triumphed over Truman State (2-4-1, 2-3) after posting a 2-0 win over Quincy on Friday.

"To get ourselves back to 3-2 (in conference play) through this stretch after dropping the first two is a testament to our young ladies," said Tinius, whose squad began its three-game winning streak with a 1-0 victory over Southern Indiana. "Even today when we weren't quite in sync they fought extremely hard for each other. We still have a lot to improve on, but the overall approach of our players through four weeks is to be commended."

A tie — not just a loss — may have been a tough pill to swallow for Bellarmine after the Knights limited the Bulldogs to a single shot leading into the second overtime. Truman State took three of its four attempts for the match in that second overtime, but by then Bellarmine was approaching 20.

With less than three minutes remaining in the second extra session, senior defender Erika Joldrichsen tossed a throw-in from the right sideline and had the ball played back to her. She passed to Ferry on the right wing. The match was played on Truman State's football field — with the goals stationed at the back of the end zones — and Ferry blasted a shot from the 17-yard line that landed inside the far post.

Tinius said that Ferry seemed fatigued early in the match but appeared rejuvenated in the overtimes. She certainly put all her energy into sinking that 27-yard shot for the golden goal in the 108th minute.

"Honestly, she almost didn't find her way back on the field, but when she got that chance she took advantage of it," Tinius said. "That was a typical Bellarmine-Truman game. (TSU Coach) Mike (Cannon) had his team very prepared and while we accumulated shots they did a good job of neutralizing how dangerous we actually were. We were also pretty hardheaded at times with our decision making."

Bellarmine finished with a 19-4 advantage in shots, including 8-2 on frame. Sophomore goalkeeper Elyssa Francis and the defense notched their third consecutive shutout and sixth overall.

"Defensively it didn't always look pretty, but we are eight games in and we've allowed two set-piece goals and scored an own goal," Tinius said. "We have been very solid as a group and that is allowing us to grind out wins."

Bellarmine hosts Missouri-St. Louis at 3:55 p.m. (ET) Friday.

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