CHARLOTTE, N.C.—The Bellarmine field hockey earned just one penalty corner, but the Knights made the most of it.
 
After the host Queens University had erased a two-goal deficit with an early fourth quarter goal to knot the score at three apiece, Bellarmine battled back and finally got the whistle for the corner with about seven minutes remaining in the contest. Freshman Alexa Rastigue inserted the ball and Cassidy Sweeney collected it and fired toward the left side of the goal.  Rastigue had worked her way back into position near the cage and got her stick on the ball to deflect it in for the eventual game-winning goal. 
 
The home-standing Royals got a few more chances offensively, but the Bellarmine defense was up to the challenge and held on for the 4-3 victory to extend BU's win streak to five games.
 
The Knights led practically the entire game, but oddly, Queens held the advantage in virtually every offensive statistic.  The Royals outshot Bellarmine 14-8 including 9-7 on frame. Queens also held a 12-1 edge in penalty corners.
 
However, Bellarmine goalie Heather Gregory notched six saves to just three for the Royals' Avian Thompson as both worked all 60 minutes in the cage.
 
"Our word for today was 'battle,'" said Bellarmine Coach Devanny Boisvert. "We had to dig deep through the heat, the different playing surface, and quick turnaround from yesterday's game. This team exemplified the word in its entirety today.  Queens is a very talented team that has quick forwards and great passing sequences. They challenged us in our circle play, but our defense remained tough. Mariana Flores Gutierrez was a force to be reckoned with today.  She played some great one-on-one defense and was brilliant with the ball in the last two minutes of play."
 
Bellarmine grabbed an early lead when Merit Harris converted her seventh goal of the season just four minutes into the contest. Lindsay Reynolds then gave Bellarmine a 2-0 lead with 61 seconds remaining in the opening period.
 
Queens registered the only score of the second period on a Sta'sha Waterfield goal, and Bellarmine held a 2-1 lead at halftime.
 
After the break, Amber Hofenk Jerembo increased the Bellarmine margin to two when she converted a pass from Mandi Isom nearly five minutes into the third period.
 
Queens, which—like Bellarmine—entered the game with a four-game win streak, did not go quietly, however. The Royals clawed their way back to tie the game with a pair of goals, the last coming a minute and a half into the fourth quarter to set up Rastigue's game-winner.
 
"It was great to see four different players contributing in our goal scoring with two more adding assists," Boisvert said. "I could not be more proud of them. They have created such a positive culture of Bellarmine field hockey and fought hard for this win. It definitely was tough coming to the Carolinas on back-to-back weekends, and it feels good going home 4-0."
 
With the win, Bellarmine improves to 6-2, which marks the best eight-game start to a season since the 2010 squad started 8-0. 
 
The Knights now get a bit of a break before returning to action on Oct 12 in Massachusetts where they'll square off against Bentley before taking on St. Anselm the following day.
 
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