BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – In its second game in as many days, the Bellarmine field hockey team fell at Big Ten foe Indiana by a final score of 6-3 on Sunday evening.
Despite the outcome, the Knights played arguably their best half of the season in the first 30 minutes, as they led the Hoosiers 3-2 at halftime.
Just over six minutes into the game, Bente Moorman fed
Marit van der Bend from outside the circle and van der Bend took care of the rest. The sophomore spun to her right and fired a shot from right-to-left that scored and gave BU a 1-0 lead.
Six minutes later, Indiana evened the match with a Jemima Cookson goal. But with just three seconds left in the first period, Bellarmine took advantage of an IU mistake. Sophie Gilltrap was whistled for a yellow card that prevented a strong goal-scoring opportunity for the Knights, which resulted in Bellarmine's first penalty stroke chance of the year. van der Bend was granted the opportunity, and she took full advantage with a bullet into the right side of the cage for her second goal of the night.
With some storms in the area, the match was delayed briefly after the first quarter. When play resumed, Bellarmine showed no signs of slowing down, extending its lead to 3-1 just five minutes into the second quarter. After multiple shots were saved or blocked, the ball popped to
Amber Hofenk Jerembo straightaway and she slapped the ball into the cage to put the Knights up two.
Late in the first half, however, is when Indiana's fortunes changed. The Hoosiers scored with just under two minutes remaining in the half to cut it to a 3-2 deficit at the break. Then, 47 seconds into the third quarter, Indiana tied the game 3-3 with Cookson's second goal of the night. Four minutes later, IU took the lead for good with a goal from Sydney Keld.
Cookson earned a hat trick for IU with an early goal in the fourth period, and the Hoosiers got extra insurance with a Meghan Dillon goal in the fourth as well.
The Knights out-shot Indiana in the first half 6-4, but Indiana responded by out-shooting BU 8-0 in the third period and 15-7 for the game. IU also held an 8-2 edge in penalty corners.
Kailey Workman made four saves in goal for Bellarmine, while
Danni Swallow made one save in 11 minutes of action.
With two goals from van der Bend and one from Hofenk Jerembo, both Bellarmine strikers are tied for a team-high three goals this season.
For more coverage of Bellarmine athletics, follow us on Twitter (@BUKnights), Instagram (BUKnights), Facebook (BUKnights) and the BUKnights mobile app available for iPhone and Android.