LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Bellarmine University women's soccer team made its Division I home debut Tuesday at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium, getting edged 1-0 after Xavier scored late in the first half.

Junior Elyssa Francis and sophomore Bailee Witt were a standout goalkeeping duo with five saves apiece, several of which were spectacular for Bellarmine (0-2). Xavier (1-1) was an NCAA Tournament team last season after capturing BIG EAST regular season and conference tournament titles, and was a unanimous pick to win the league's Midwest Division in the preseason coaches' poll.

"I thought that was a fantastic effort from our players tonight," Knights Coach Chris Tinius said. "They played hard, they were committed to what we wanted to do. When we did have breakdowns, our goalkeepers were phenomenal. It took a pretty special strike to beat us."

That strike came from Mackenzie Tucker in the 38th minute, ripped from 20 yards into the right side of the net. It was one of 18 shots, and 11 on goal, for the Musketeers. Bellarmine attempted five, with one coming on goal, and had several promising build-ups.

"We knew we wouldn't win the possession battle or shot count, but we once again created six or seven great opportunities to get a goal ourselves," Tinius said. "It might not show up in the actual shot count if it was a cross that was a hair off or a heavy touch in the wrong spot, but we had enough chances to get a result against a very good team."

Bellarmine had technically been off from game action since Feb. 6, a layoff that included three straight cancelations, but the Knights played an exhibition Sunday at Louisville, another 2019 NCAA Tournament team.

"We've played four halves over the last three days against two quality teams," Tinius said. "The last three I thought were very positive and should give us confidence that we can compete at this level."

Bellarmine opens ASUN play Sunday afternoon with a contest at Liberty.

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