Saint Louis officially begins the 2023 field hockey season on Friday morning when the Billikens head to Louisville to take on the Bellarmine Knights. Game time is 10 a.m. (CT), as both teams agreed to push up the game time to avoid the heat.

The match will be streamed live and for free on the BU Knights Sports Network.

Fourth-year head coach Zoe Adkins leads a group of 19 returning players and four newcomers. Among the returners are last year's leading scorers Josefina Perez (5G, 5A), Olivia Smith (4G, 2A) and Shaya Dry (4G, 1A). In fact, the Bills return nine of the 10 players who scored goals last year.

This is perhaps the most experienced SLU field hockey team in recent history. Nine players are in their senior-plus seasons, including three (Demi Sahuleka, Grace Golembiewski and Cameron Tucker) who are utilizing their fifth year of eligibility that the NCAA afforded to student-athletes who competed in the 2020-21 season that was impacted by the pandemic.

Saint Louis won five games last year, the most since 2006. The Billikens ended the year winning two straight and three of its last four.

Bellarmine is in its final year of the transition to NCAA Division I. The Knights went 4-15 overall last year and 2-5 in the Mid-American Conference.

This is the 12th meeting all-time between the Billikens and Knights in a series that dates to 1986. SLU leads the series 10-1, with the last meeting coming in 2021, a 3-2 SLU win at Sportport International. Bellarmine's victory came in 2009.

What's Next?

SLU hosts Bryant at Sportport International on Sunday in the Bills' home opener. Game time is scheduled for noon.