LOUISVILLE, Ky.—A short-handed Bellarmine field hockey team came out on the short end of an 8-0 score on Friday afternoon as the Knights hosted Kent State in the first of a two-game set at Trager Stadium.
 
The Golden Flashes wasted little time asserting their dominance, connecting for two goals in the game's first two minutes.  Kent State went on to pile up seven goals in the first 30 minutes as the visitors controlled the ball in their offensive end for the majority of the first two quarters.
 
In all, Kent State outshot the Knights 13-3 in the first half and held a 6-0 advantage in penalty corners.
 
The second half yielded just one goal, a fourth quarter score by Kent State's Katie Wuerstle, who made a nice move along the endline to get around a defender and deposit the ball in the back of the cage.
 
Bellarmine saw a few scoring opportunities slip past with shots sailing just wide and Kent State goalie Rebecca Nelson making a diving save on another.
 
The final statistics reflect what the scoreboard showed…a convincing victory for the Golden Flashes. Overall, Kent State owned a 19-7 shot advantage and a 7-0 edge in penalty corners as the bulk of the Knights' shots came in transition.
 
Clara Rodriguez of Kent State collected a hat trick to pace the Golden Flashes offense while Wuerstle added two scores.
 
For Bellarmine, Amber Hofenk Jerembo fired off six of the seven Knights' shots with Lindsay Sturgeon also having a scoring opportunity.  Breanna McWhorter worked all 60 minutes in cage for Bellarmine, coming up with five saves on the day.
 
Kent State (2-1) and Bellarmine (0-5) meet again tomorrow.  The game is slated for a 1 p.m. start at Trager Stadium.