EAST LANSING, Mich. – With its first win, Bellarmine Field Hockey challenged Big Ten opponents Michigan State, but the Spartans pulled away with a 3-1 win late Sunday afternoon.
Fast start was a common theme for the Knights – for the third straight season they scored the first goal.
“Our schedule this year is challenging but I know this group is capable of competing at a high level – we saw that today,” Knights head coach said Devanny Boisvert said. “I was happy that we were first on the board and produced a solid set of offensive opportunities.”
Starting with a penalty corner in the eighth minute of the game, Julia Doornebos stepped straight into the circle, ducked low and swept a shot from deep into the cage to give Bellarmine a 1-0 advantage. It was Doornebos’ second goal of the season Peyton Hobson grabbed her second assist in as many games.
Bellarmine maintained his 1-0 lead until the end of the first half when Michigan State scored in the second quarter. Isa van der Weij equalized after the end of the game and equalized 1:1 at the break.
With the game still deadlocked after 10 minutes in the third quarter, the Spartans capitalized on a key swing. Bellarmine had three consecutive penalty corners, but Michigan State escaped unscathed and conceded twenty seconds later with a breakaway goal from Lulu Fulton.
With a 2-1 lead, Michigan State kept the pressure on and scored another goal less than a minute later to extend their lead to 3-1.
The Spartans beat Bellarmine 21-13 (15-5 SOG), but Bellarmine stayed level with MSU on eight shots each in the second half. Michigan State had 11 penalty corners for the game, eight of which came in the second quarter, while BU had a total of eight corners.
Amber Hofenk Jerembo Bellarmine led with five shots while Anna Crump and Doornebos had three each.
Danny Schwalbe got the start in goal for Bellarmine and played the first three quarters. Swallow made a career-high nine saves. Kailey Workman played the last quarter and collected three saves.
“Our focus today was on our press with individual responsibilities and we executed them perfectly,” added Boisvert. “Our corners continue to impress me as we scored all four goals from corners this weekend. We need to do some quick counters and free kicks in our A25 and be a little more relaxed with our opponent’s quick counters. Overall it’s been such a solid weekend of Bellarmine field hockey and we’re hoping to continue that momentum into next weekend.”
Next up, the Knights return home on Friday to take on Miami, Ohio. The action starts at 2:00 p.m. and can be followed on the BU Knights Sports Network.
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.
