MUNCIE, Ind.—The Bellarmine University field hockey team came agonizingly close to getting its first victory as a Division I program today, but the host Ball State Cardinals prevailed 2-1 in overtime at Briner Sports Stadium.
Trailing 1-0 since Ball State scored in the 23rd minute, the Knights finally got the equalizer with just three minutes left in regulation when sophomore
Amber Hofenk Jerembo reversed direction and beat Ball State goalie Grace Chavez with a backhanded shot from a tough angle.
Bellarmine had possession early in the overtime period, and
Lindsay Sturgeon was in close for a potential game winner but couldn't get off a clean shot as Ball State averted becoming the Knights' first DI victim.
The host Cardinals took advantage of the new life, drawing a penalty corner on the ensuing possession, and Rachel Pereira won the game with a hard smash into the right side of the goal.
Bellarmine Coach
Devanny Boisvert said she saw the Knights make strides today. "Our goal all season long has been improvement, and I definitely think we saw that today," she said. "It was our first time going into overtime at the Division I level, and we kept fighting until the very end. I think that shows what kind of a team we are. We were relentless and never once gave up, even when we were down. This was certainly a team effort and am so proud of how deep everyone dug throughout the 60 minutes and into overtime."
Despite the close score, Ball State owned big advantages in most stats, outshooting the Knights 24-7 and almost doubling up Bellarmine on penalty corners 7-4.
With the Cardinals controlling the offense for most of the game, it meant that Bellarmine's defense came up big. Bellarmine goalie
Breanna McWhorter recorded 12 saves on the day, and
Grace Dukes notched her second defensive save of the year.
Boisvert also was pleased with how her offense played. "We got into our rhythm in the third and fourth quarters and had more attacking opportunities," she said. "Ball State is a very good defensive team, so it was good to see us draw four attacking corners and be able to convert with three minutes left in the game."
The Knights fall to 0-7 on the season while Ball State improves to 4-5. The same two teams will square off tomorrow at 1 p.m.
