LOUISVILLE, Ky. — After its best two-game stretch of the season, Bellarmine field hockey charges into a pair of road games at Appalachian State and Davidson in North Carolina this weekend.

The Knights take on App State (5-5, 1-2 MAC) Friday at 5:00 p.m. and face Davidson (3-7, 0-3 A10) at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday.

Bellarmine's success showed everywhere on the pitch this past weekend with wins over Longwood (2-1 victory) and Queens (5-0 win) at home.  Defensively, the Knights held Longwood to just four shots on goal and limited Queens to only one shot on goal.  The win over Queens was BU's first shutout of the season and second in the Division I era.  Danni Swallow and Kailey Workman split time on Sunday and combined for the shut-out, while Swallow was solid in her winning effort against Longwood.  

On offense, senior Amber Hofenk Jerembo was sensational again, scoring two goals versus Longwood and one versus Queens.  Hofenk Jerembo tallied both game-winning goals this past weekend.  She now ranks second in the Mid-American Conference in goals (nine) and shots on goal (17).  For her efforts, Hofenk Jerembo was awarded MAC Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season.

Anna Crump also had a strong Sunday, scoring two of Bellarmine's five goals against Queens.  Crump's goals were her first of the season after scoring six times last year.  Bente Moormann and Peyton Hobson added to the fun, scoring their first goals of the season on Sunday as well.  Moormann, Hobson, and Marit van der Bend now all have at least three assists to lead the team.

Head Coach Devanny Boisvert's comments after Sunday's game summarize the weekend well:

"It was a total team effort — from the defensive to the attacking end," Boisvert said. "I was happy with our passing patterns and how quickly we were able to generate our attack.  I think it says a lot about our team and how we competed with the quick turnaround… It was a great weekend for Bellarmine field hockey and ended with two wins."

The Knights will try to carry their momentum into Friday's match with Appalachian State.  The Mountaineers are an even 5-5 on the season and coming off a 3-2 win over Lock Haven on Sunday.  App State is only 1-2 in the MAC but suffered close losses versus two of the better teams in the conference – the Mountaineers lost 2-1 to Kent State and 3-2 to Miami Ohio.  Their lone conference victory thus far was a 7-1 triumph over Central Michigan.  That win came at home, where App State has been excellent with a 4-1 record.  As a team, Appalachian State has been strong statistically, leading the MAC in goals (27) and ranking second in goals allowed per game (1.50).  Friederike Stegen leads App State with 10 goals this season, while Carli Ciocco has a team-best nine assists.  Last season, the Mountaineers bested Bellarmine 4-2 at Trager Stadium.
 
Davidson enters the weekend sliding.  The Wildcats won their first three matches against Georgetown, Towson, and Queens, but have now lost seven in a row.  Against a pair of common opponents, Davidson defeated Queens 6-2 and lost to Longwood 1-0.  The Wildcats were picked to finish seventh out of eight teams in the Atlantic 10 and are currently 0-3 in conference action.  Charlie Kabelac, Natalia Naticchia, and Anna Sharp all have three goals to lead the team.  Sib Naaktgeboren leads Davidson with five assists this year.  The Wildcats take on VCU Friday night before their match with Bellarmine on Sunday.

Friday's contest at App State can be viewed for free on Twitch, while Sunday's contest at Davidson can be watched on ESPN+ (subscription required).

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