ST. LOUIS, MO -- Bellarmine field hockey began its 2024 season with a 2-1 overtime loss to the Central Michigan Chippewas in St. Louis.  

It was a slow start offensively for the Knights, as a penalty corner eight minutes into the game served as their only real offensive opportunity.  The Chippewas took the early 1-0 lead with a goal at the 6:16 mark in the first quarter and outshot the Knights 2-0 for the period.  CMU widened the shooting gap to 5-0 in the second quarter, but three Kailey Workman saves kept the score at 1-0 going into the half.

Bellarmine's offense began to pick up in the third quarter as the Knights outshot the Chippewas 4-2 in the period, with three shots coming from Anna Crump. The Knights also afforded themselves two more penalty corner opportunities in the period, but were unable to find the equalizer as the score remained 1-0 heading into the fourth quarter.  After two more saves from Workman, the Knights tied the game with 10 minutes to go as Mia Booth found the back of the net off a pass from Crump.  Bellarmine's defense survived three more shots from CMU, sending the game into overtime.  The Knights could not generate any offense in the extra period however, and CMU scored the game-winning goal at the 6:47 mark.

Overall, CMU outshot Bellarmine 17-5, including a 14-4 advantage in shots on goal.  Workman recorded 12 saves to keep Bellarmine in the game and the Knights and Chippewas each recorded three corner opportunities.

The Knights will look to bounce back tomorrow, as they will stay in St. Louis to take on the Saint Louis Billikens at 2 PM ET.

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