BOONE, N.C.—The Bellarmine field hockey dropped a 7-2 decision to Appalachian State today in a nonconference Division I game at Adcock Field.
The Knights, making their Division I debut this season, managed to score on both shots it had in the game. Theresa Schmidt converted on Bellarmine's only penalty corner of the game for her first goal of the season, and
Amber Hofenk Jerembo added her fifth of the season shortly after halftime.
Schmidt's goal came on a play in which she inserted the ball on the corner, then crept up to the left post where she deflected a hard smash off Jerembo's stick. Jerembo's goal came early in the third quarter when
Peyton Hobson shuffled a pass from the baseline and Jerembo was able to finish.
Aside from the two Bellarmine goals, play was dominated by the host Mountaineers, who outshot the Knights 27-2 and owned a 10-1 advantage in penalty corners.
Meghan Smart paced the Appalachian State offense, firing seven shots and scoring three goals. Veerle Van Heertum also was active for ASU, putting six shots on target, but getting just one past Bellarmine goalie
Breanna McWhorter, who turned in another solid effort with 11 saves on the day.
Interestingly, both goalies in the game graduated from Louisville' Manual High School. While Clark got the "W," McWhorter stuffed the stat sheet with will 11 saves and a save percentage of .688. She also upped her nation's leading saves per game statistic, improving her average to 9.11 despite playing just three quarters.
"Today was a difficult game for us," said Bellarmine Coach
Devanny Boisvert. "We did not show up with energy and communication which resulted in (giving up) two early goals. We need to limit turnovers and do a better job taking care of the ball. The positive we took away from today was capitalizing on our attacking opportunities - we scored two goals on two shots. App State is a strong and disciplined team — we need to do a better job at slowing down their attack and working harder to contain their speed."
The Mountaineers, who will be league foes next year when Bellarmine officially joins the Mid-American Conference for field hockey, improve to 6-5 on season with today's win. The Knights slip to 0-9.
The same teams will face off again tomorrow with game time set for noon.
