DAYTON, Ohio — The Bellarmine University women's soccer team made its Division I debut Saturday at Dayton, falling 2-0 to the Flyers.

The game was deadlocked at 0-0 at halftime, but Dayton (1-0) scored a pair of second-half goals against Bellarmine (0-1).

"Well, we have one under our belt," Knights Coach Chris Tinius said. "It didn't go the way we want, but we have a starting point and can make a plan to move forward from here."

Bellarmine finished with a slight 11-10 advantage in shots, but Dayton had one more on frame at 6-5. After a scoreless first half, Diana Benigno scored early in the second stanza off an assist from Jessica Sheldon. Benigno also had a hand in the second goal, assisting along with Laney Huber on a goal by Madison Wilson.

"Dayton is a good team," Tinius said. "They did a good job of finding some half spaces that gave us trouble and converted on their chances. They were also good in transition to keep us from exploiting some spaces we knew were there. That extra half second of speed or decision-making decides a lot of games and that is magnified even more at this level. They simply won a lot more of those moments than we did."

Bellarmine will play Thursday at Western Kentucky.

"I thought our general organization was good," Tinius said. "We probably created more chances, or opportunities for chances than I would have guessed. Unfortunately, we just weren't as competitive as we need to be in and around either goal box."

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