OXFORD, Ohio—The Bellarmine Knights field hockey team dropped a 5-1 decision to Rider on Friday afternoon at a neutral site game on the campus of Miami University.
 
"Our mindset was not where it needed to be coming off our first Division I win last weekend," said Bellarmine Coach Devanny Boisvert said.  "We needed to use that momentum and energy going into today."
 
After a scoreless first quarter, the Broncs tallied two goals in the second period to take a 2-0 lead at the half.  The reigning Northeast Conference champions tacked on another score early in the third quarter to see their lead swell to 3-0.
 
The Knights, however, answered quickly as sophomore Peyton Hobson converted a pass from senior Cassidy Sweeney just 43 second later to trim the margin to 3-1. 
 
Rider scored once more in the third period, then dominated the fourth quarter by outshooting the Knights 12-0 in the final stanza.  Bellarmine goalkeeper Breanna McWhorter tallied six of her nine saves on the day in the final period to keep the game close.
 
Boisvert said the Knights had scoring opportunities but couldn't close the gap. "We had some beautiful passing sequences, and we had plenty of offensive opportunities," she said. "Our execution needs to be more purposeful. We have to do a better job at problem solving in the moment and be able to adjust to their press and positional formation."
 
For the game, Rider owned advantages in virtually every offensive statistic, outshooting the Knights 24-9 including 14-4 on cage.  The Broncs also owned a 7-4 edge in penalty corners.
 
The Bellarmine coach credited the opposition for making scoring difficult. "Rider is the reigning NEC champions and competed in the NCAA tournament," Boisvert said. "They are tough. They defended us well and defensively created a lot of chaos and confusion for us."
 
The Knights are back in action on Monday when they travel to Indiana to take on the Hoosiers in a 3 p.m. contest.
 
Boisvert hopes her charges will turn the page from today's game and move on to rest of the season. "Tomorrow is a new day," she said, "and we have two days to refocus to prepare for IU on Monday."