LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Bellarmine University women's soccer team will open ASUN divisional play when it welcomes Lipscomb for a 6 p.m. (ET) contest Thursday at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium.

Members of the West Division, Bellarmine (3-4-5, 1-3 ASUN) and Lipscomb (8-3-1, 3-1) are both coming off four conference "crossover" games against league foes from the East Division.

MAKE 'EM COUNT
The divisional games are of the utmost importance, as the ASUN teams are ranked in the standings according to points earned in divisional matches.

Eight of the 12 ASUN teams will advance to the ASUN Tournament. The top three teams from each division will automatically advance. The crossover games (East vs. West) don't count in the divisional standings, but they will factor into the determination of the seventh and eighth seeds in the ASUN Tournament.

Bellarmine opened the season with eight nonconference games, shifted to four ASUN crossover contests and now the Knights are looking at another new beginning with five divisional clashes.

"This is definitely a clean slate," Knights Coach Chris Tinius said. "The reality is we didn't get what we needed from the crossover games in terms of getting many potential tiebreakers in our favor. That said, our talk was about also using those four games to build momentum into the five games where you can earn your way straight into the ASUN Tournament." 

LAST TIME OUT
Bellarmine concluded crossover play with a 2-0 home win Sunday over Jacksonville. Senior midfielder Sarah Buse scored in the 11th and 26th minutes, the Knights limited the Dolphins to six shots and doubled their shot total in each half, and they absorbed a strong initial push by Jacksonville in the second half to regain control and roll to the win.

"We played pretty well on Sunday, but the big thing to me was that we handled some bumps in the road a lot better than we did even a week before," Tinius said. "We came out focused and ready to play after an early wake-up call that was followed by a delay (due to weather). In the second half, Jacksonville tried to match up with us more player to player and use their athleticism to win individual battles. Based on our track record, I don't think that was a terrible idea on their part. Our kids stayed committed to what we wanted to do and didn't shy away from anything. I was proud of them."

ABOUT LIPSCOMB
Bellarmine faced ASUN preseason co-favorite North Florida two games ago. Lipscomb is the team that shared the honor with the Ospreys.

After falling 2-1 in double overtime to North Florida in its crossover debut, the Bisons have surged to three straight wins, defeating Jacksonville 2-0, Liberty 1-0 and Kennesaw State 3-0. Lipscomb opened the season 4-0 including a 2-1 win over Mississippi State and a 2-0 triumph over Miami.

Like UNF, Lipscomb has plenty of star power. Shelby Craft is the reigning ASUN Defensive Player of the Year and was predicted to earn the award again in the preseason. Logan McFadden was the 2018 ASUN Defensive Player of the Year and joined Craft on the ASUN Preseason All-Conference Team, as did forward Cami Rogers and midfielder Kelli Beiler.

Rogers is leading Lipscomb with four goals while Molly Grant and Kale'a Perry have three apiece. The Bisons have amassed seven shutouts, including clean sheets in the last three games.

"Lipscomb is a talented, well-rounded, well-coached team," Tinius said. "They have depth in the attack, but they are solid defensively as well. They tend to start strong, so withstanding that and getting yourself into the way you want to play is important. For me, we are coming off of our two best back-to-back performances of the year as far as staying committed to the process, so hopefully that creates some momentum for us."

PRODUCTIVE PRIMER
Bellarmine finished ASUN crossover play strong with the 2-0 victory over Jacksonville. The Knights preceded that with 2-0 losses to FGCU and North Florida but both were scoreless at halftime, and particularly in the former, Bellarmine created enough opportunities where it arguably should have held a lead.

A 1-0 double-overtime loss at Stetson to start crossover play was most disappointing among the setbacks, but that doesn't mean it had no significance. All things considered, the Knights took steps forward leading into divisional action.

"Stetson didn't go how we wanted, but it provided some valuable learning moments," Tinius said. "Each game since we've put things together a little bit more. Honestly, while all the ties at the beginning of the year weren't losses, we might have been better served dropping one or two of those games to really convince us that we needed to tinker with our approach. I feel like this stretch has actually been much more beneficial to the growth of this team and our overall transition." 

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