LYNCHBURG, Va. — It looked as if Elise Markley's day might be over.

But the Bellarmine University junior defender had a lot more in store.

On Sunday at Osborne Stadium, Markley scored off a corner kick from junior forward Isabella Zamborini in the 89th minute as the Knights recorded their first Division I and ASUN Conference win with a 1-0 victory over Liberty.

Bellarmine (1-2, 1-0 ASUN) had been encouraged by a strong second half against Louisville in an exhibition and its competitive play against Xavier in a 1-0 loss — both the Cardinals and Musketeers were 2019 NCAA Tournament teams — leading into the game against Liberty (1-2-2, 0-1).

"Another great effort from our kids today, and it finally paid off," Knights Coach Chris Tinius said. "Now we can talk about the 'firsts' that I like — first goal, first result."

Markley has been a defender at Bellarmine, but she was a prolific offensive player in high school. The Ohio native had scored one previous goal for the Knights, a game-winner in a 1-0 victory over Charleston her freshman year. Her second career goal marked Bellarmine's first as a D1 program.

With less than two minutes left in regulation, Zamborini sent a corner kick toward the center of the goalie box. Markley was positioned toward the back of a cluster of players. She rose and directed a header that, figuratively speaking, split the uprights — the shot was perfectly placed between the goalkeeper and a defender stationed on the left post.

Markley had taken a nasty spill in the first half and needed to be helped off the field after rolling her ankle, but she returned in the second half to account for the historic goal.

"She got taped up and she was fantastic," Tinius said. "Especially in the second half, we had some kids really take advantage of their opportunities. We made a couple of adjustments at halftime, and the team took them wholeheartedly and executed. We've felt like a set-piece goal was coming for a few games now and we finally got one."

Bellarmine's defense notched its first D1 shutout — something it routinely accomplished in DII. Junior goalkeeper Elyssa Francis tallied four saves, none bigger than late in the second half when she smothered a Liberty shot from about 8 yards.

The shots were even at 10 apiece, and the game did indeed reflect that kind of balance between the two squads.

"Everything here at Liberty was first class from the facilities to the staff and their team," Tinius said. "They have a talented group and we had to earn what we got today. I think that makes it feel even better that we know we earned it against a good team."

Bellarmine had been pining for its first D1 goal. In a sense, things haven't changed much in the transition — the Knights' reliable team defense has ensured competitive games; it was largely a matter of scratching out a goal to get a positive outcome, same as in DII.

"We're lucky the goal came late," Tinius said. "We talked about when we finally score to not let it just be a relief and cause us to let down. The timing in the game certainly helped in making us stay focused to finish it out."

Bellarmine will host Kennesaw State at noon (ET) Sunday.

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