App State traveled to Kentucky to face off against the Bellarmine Knights to open up their Mid-Atlantic Conference season Friday. 

The Mountaineers outlasted the Knights 4-2. This win marks the first conference opening win since the Mountaineers joined the MAC in 2017.

Junior forward Charlotte Bosma opened up the game with her third goal of the season. However, 28 seconds later Bellarmine tied the match at 1-1. 

“My aggressiveness in the forward line really helped the press so all my teammates could pick up from there,” Bosma said. 

In the second quarter, graduate student forward Sarah Farrell scored on an assist from Bosma to set a 2-1 lead for the Mountaineers that would never be relinquished. 

App State extended their lead to 3-1 heading into the third quarter. This quarter was highlighted by strong defense from the Black and Gold. 

In this quarter, sophomore forward Hadley Kuzmicky, a Kentucky native, found the back of the net for her first career goal off an assist from graduate student forward Rachel Fleig. 

“It was really exciting to score my first goal, especially being back home this weekend,” Kuzmicky said. 

Fleig scored a goal of her own to expand the lead to 4-1 at the end of third. 

The only goal of the fourth came from Bellarmine’s Anna Crump to shrink the deficit to two, but it was too little too late. 

Head coach Emily Dinsmore was very proud of the team’s strong win. 

“It’s always great to start 1-0 in Conference,” Dinsmore said. “The team has been saying ‘small ego, big mission’ throughout the season and today’s win over Bellarmine will help us continue that mission as we set our eyes on the MAC tournament.” 

App State returns home to defend their five regular season conference win streak since 2022 against the Miami Redhawks Sept. 22. The match is set at noon and can be streamed on Twitch, YouTube and the App State Field Hockey Facebook page.