LOUISVILLE, Ky. —  With just over two week remaining in the regular season, Bellarmine field hockey begins a critical final homestand this weekend.  
 
The Knights will play their next four at home, starting with Ball State (6-6, 3-1 MAC) at 1:00 p.m. on Friday and a match versus No. 24 Duke (5-8, 0-4 ACC) at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday.
 
Bellarmine rolls into the weekend hot, winning three of its last four matches.  The Knights swept their last two home matches against Longwood (2-1) and Queens (5-0), before splitting last weekend's slate at Appalachian State (2-3, 2OT) and Davidson (4-3). 
 
With four victories, Bellarmine has already matched its win total from last season and sits in the middle of a packed race in the Mid-American Conference.  The Knights (2-2 MAC) are currently tied for fourth place out of eight teams.  Only the top four teams at the end of the season qualify for the MAC Tournament. 
 
Bellarmine's first opponent this weekend, Ball State, is 3-1 in conference action and tied for second place in the MAC standings with Miami Ohio.  First year head coach Caitlin Walsh has already guided the Cardinals to more wins than they had all of last season, but they have not been easy.  Every single one of Ball State's victories has come by one goal this year.  When BSU and Bellarmine faced off last season, the Knights took down the Cards 2-1 in both meetings.  The Knights' leading goal-scorer over the last two seasons, Amber Hofenk Jerembo, had a goal in each of those games.  Ball State's leading scorer this year is freshman Fleur Knopert, who has eight goals. 
 
Duke will take on no. 7 Louisville at Trager Stadium Friday night before the matchup with Bellarmine on Sunday.  The 24^th ranked Blue Devils' 5-8 record is deceiving, as they have faced 11 ranked teams already this season.  Duke started the year strong with victories over no. 8 Rutgers and no. 18 Saint Joseph's.  The results turned south, however, at the end of September, and the Blue Devils lost four straight before an 8-1 win at Richmond on Sunday.  Duke has faced two common opponents, beating Appalachian State 2-1 in overtime and losing to James Madison 4-2 at home.  Issy Carey has a team-best seven goals for Duke this year, while Hannah Miller has a team-high nine assists.
 
For Bellarmine, Hofenk Jerembo leads the MAC with 11 goals this season and ranks second in the conference with 23 shots on goal.  Marit van der Bend has scored or assisted in each of the last three games, while Anna Crump has three goals and two assists in the last three contests. 

Both games this weekend can be viewed on BU Knights Sports Network.

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