LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The Bellarmine lacrosse team saw its hopes for a second straight appearance in the Southern Conference postseason tournament dashed today as the visiting Jacksonville Dolphins pulled away in the second half to post a 17-11 victory at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium.
 
The loss left Bellarmine 3-4 in league play to tie for fourth place in the league standings with Jacksonville, and with the Dolphins winning the head-to-head meeting, they'll be the No. 4 seed at the SoCon tourney.
 
The Dolphins got a huge effort from faceoff specialist Hunter Forbes, who won 21 of the 32 battles at the "X" and scooped up 14 ground balls. During the pivotal third quarter when Jacksonville outscored the Knights 5-1, Forbes went 6-1 in face offs.
 
Offensively, the Jacksonville duo of Eric Applegate and McLean Chicquen posted big numbers. Applegate recorded a seven-point game with three goals and four assists while Chicquen tallied three goals and three assists.
 
Bellarmine's Brian Wall and Morgan Macko each tallied three goals to pace the Knights' attack.
 
The Dolphins drew first blood in the game on a Chicquen goal two and a half minutes into the contest, but the Knights answered with goals by Morgan Macko and Stephen Votto to take what would be their only lead of the game at 2-1.
 
The first half stayed extremely competitive as Jacksonville led 7-6 at the break.  However, the third period was pretty much all Dolphins as they extended their lead to 12-7.
 
The Knights crept to within 14-11 with 7:55 remaining in the game, but the Dolphins essentially closed the door when they scored on their next two possessions while Jacksonville goalie Ben Gleichenhaus recorded three of his 11 saves on BU's next two offensive series.
 
Bellarmine ends its season at 4-9 overall while the Dolphins improve to 3-10 and will face top-seeded Air Force in the SoCon tournament next week.
 
Before today's game, the Knights honored its 2017 senior class of Tanner Barco, Tucker Ciessau, Kevin Fahey, Graham Macko, Tyler Nangle, Jack Perkins, Andrew Schoeneck and Dylan Sprock.
 
Three of the seniors scored in their final game:  Ciessau, Graham Macko, and Perkins. Ciessau's goal was his 83rd of his career as he finishes as BU's all-time leader in goals, points (127), and shots (301) and is tied for second on the Knights' career list for assists with 44.
 
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