MILWAUKEE, Wisc.—The Bellarmine Knights lacrosse team broke out to a quick 3-0 lead over the host Marquette Golden Eagles, but could not maintain the momentum as Marquette scored five unanswered goals and went on to post a 9-7 victory in a the non-conference NCAA Division I battle.

Playing their first true home game in the program's four-year history, Marquette (1-0) peppered the Bellarmine defense with 47 shots on the day, while the Knights got off just 20.

Ryan McNamara scored four goals on eight shots for the Golden Eagles to lead all scorers.  Bellarmine's Tucker Ciessau recorded his second hat trick of the year, netting three goals on five shots.

In goal, Bellarmine's Chase Rose came up with 13 saves but with saddled with the loss while Jimmy Danaher picked up the win while making six saves.

The game started just as Bellarmine would have drawn it up with Ciessau converting off a pass from Brogan Hill less than two minutes into the contest.  The Knights made it 2-0 just 1:15 later as Dylan Gatt scored his fourth goal of the season on one of Ryan Broderick's three assists on the day.

The Golden Eagles finally got their first offensive opportunity after a Bellarmine turnover and fired off eight shots but were denied as Rose made two saves for the Knights. 

After each team turned it over, Bellarmine's Ian Miller notched his first career goal to give the Knights a 3-0 lead.

The Golden Eagles then won the ensuing faceoff and capitalized with a goal at the 2:08 mark after misfiring on their first four shots of the possession. Marquette stayed on offense with another faceoff win and converted to trim the Knights' lead to just 3-2 at the end of the first period.

The second quarter was pretty much all Golden Eagles as the Knights got off just one shot while committing five turnovers over the first 14:40 minutes. Marquette, meanwhile, scored three times to take a 5-3 advantage. Bellarmine finally broke through in the waning seconds as Ciessau scored with just four seconds remaining in the first half to get the Knights within one at halftime.

After the break, the Golden Eagles put up two quick goals to stretch the lead to three, but the Knights fought back with two straight scores. However, this time it was Marquette that converted a buzzer beater to take an 8-6 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

In the final stanza, the teams combined for 16 shots before Marquette's Kyle Whitlow finally converted with just 1:55 remaining. The Knights refused to go quietly, however, and Jack Perkins' goal with 1:11 on the clock pulled BU to within two and gave the Knights a glimmer of hope for a comeback. But it was not to be as MU's Zachary Melillo won the ensuing faceoff, and the Golden Eagles were able to kill the remaining time to hang on for the 9-7 win.
 
The Golden Eagles not only won on the scoreboard, but the hosts also won most of the statistical battles, holding advantages in ground balls (25-15) and faceoffs (11-7) while turning it over three fewer times. Marquette also played penalty-free while the Knights were flagged four times.

Bellarmine (1-1) has another stiff road challenge coming up next week when the Knights travel to South Bend to take on the No. 1-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Wednesday, Feb. 24.
 
BOX SCORE (HTM)