MUNCIE, Ind. — The Bellarmine field hockey team made history on Friday afternoon, officially winning its first Division I conference game at Ball State.
The Knights beat the Cardinals 2-1, capturing their second win of the season. Ironically, the first victory was against Ball State at Trager Stadium by a final score of…2-1. Because of Friday's game in Muncie, however, the first contest in August did not count toward MAC play.
Bellarmine set the tone quickly with a goal in the sixth minute from
Marit van der Bend. The freshman scored her second goal of the season off a rare penalty stroke she sent through the right side of the cage. The Knights were previously 0-1 in penalty strokes before van der Bend's goal gave BU a 1-0 lead.
Neither team scored the rest of the half, with the Knights out-shooting Ball State 8-5 through the first two quarters. Bellarmine's offensive pressure ratcheted up in the third quarter, producing six shots, four shots on goal, and three penalty corners.
The Knights finally broke through for their second goal with just under four minutes to play in the third period. Bellarmine had a penalty corner, which set up
Amber Hofenk Jerembo's team-high fifth goal of the season.
Teresa Schmidt picked up her team-leading fourth assist. In the season-opening win for BU against Ball State, Hofenk Jerembo also tallied the second goal which proved to be the game-winner.
From that point forward on Friday, the Knights had to hold on. Within the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, Ball State drew a penalty stroke. Kerrianne McClay cashed in to make it a 2-1 game. The Cardinals came up with five shots the rest of the way, but Knights goalkeeper
Breanna McWhorter made a pair of saves and Bellarmine could not be deterred.
Statistics were nearly identical across the board, and the game was littered with parallels from the meeting in August – most importantly, the result was the same for Bellarmine.
With her goal against Ball State, Hofenk Jerembo has a goal in each of her last two games and four of the last six contests. Schmidt has an assist in each of the last two games.
McWhorter made eight saves in goal for the Knights.
Bellarmine moves to 2-11 this season and returns home next Friday to face Central Michigan (3-10, 1-4 MAC) at 1:00 p.m. inside Trager Stadium. The game will be broadcast on BU Knights Sports Network.
