LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Bellarmine University women's soccer team will take on Lipscomb for the third time this season when the third-seeded Knights and sixth-seeded Bisons square off at 7 p.m. (ET) Thursday in the first round of the ASUN Championship at host North Florida.

The three meetings between Bellarmine (6-6-5) and Lipscomb (6-4-7) will have taken place over the last 18 days. In the two regular-season matchups, the Knights defeated the Bisons 3-2 on Oct. 18 in Nashville before the teams played to a 1-1 draw Oct. 31 in Louisville.

Lipscomb owns a 6-2-3 lead in the series, but Bellarmine is 2-0-1 in the last three clashes with the Bisons. The teams have met once before in the postseason. In the 2024 ASUN quarterfinals, Lipscomb secured a 2-1 home win in double overtime.

Bellarmine is making its third consecutive appearance in the ASUN Championship (fifth overall), and second straight under head coach Steve Bornhoffer. The Knights' third-place finish in the ASUN was their highest in a non-divisional format in the Division-I era. Their 16 points earned in ASUN play was also a program record.

Bellarmine's deepest run in the ASUN Championship has been to the semifinals, which the Knights have done twice (2025, 2021). Bellarmine has played once in Hodges Stadium already this season, posting a 1-1 draw against North Florida on Sept. 24 in an ASUN opener. That result and point earned certainly aged well, as the Ospreys secured the 2-seed.

Bellarmine garnered one ASUN superlative, three All-ASUN and two ASUN All-Freshman Team accolades in the conference's postseason awards. Junior midfielder Brynn Severance was named ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year and second-team All-ASUN. Sophomore forward Katie Paulakonis was recognized as first-team All-ASUN, and junior defender Cameron Dye was cited as second-team All-ASUN. Midfielders Ella Flynn and Rachel Shewmaker landed on the ASUN All-Freshman Team.

Knights Notes:

• Paulakonis ranks first in the ASUN in points per game (1.18), second in total goals (8) and total points (20), and tied for second in assists (4) and game-winning goals (3). The 2x ASUN Player of the Week supplied 5 goals and 4 assists in conference play.
• Flynn's 5 goals are tied for fifth in the league. She is a 2x ASUN Defensive Player of the Week.
• Bellarmine's defense has been at its best this season in ASUN play, particularly in the latter half of league action. In BU's last four games, the Knights posted three straight shutouts and nearly had a fourth in a row before Lipscomb found the net in the 81st minute in the finale. All five of Bellarmine's clean sheets this year have come over the last eight matches. The five shutouts are tied for fourth in the conference.

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