DETROIT—The Bellarmine lacrosse team couldn't shrug off a slow start and fell to the Detroit Mercy Titans 11-5 on Friday afternoon at the 4^th Annual Midwest Classic being played at UDM's Wisner Stadium.
 
The host Titans jumped out to a 5-0 after the first quarter, and the Knights never got closer than four the rest of the way.
 
The slow start was punctuated by the first 5:23 of the game when Bellarmine had no possessions in their offensive end while the Titans netted three quick goals.
 
Bellarmine's defense ramped up after the opening 15 minutes, but the offense took some time to get rolling as the second quarter featured just two goals scored, one by Detroit and one by Bellarmine's Blake Roshkowski.
 
After trailing 6-1 at halftime, the Knights closed to within four on two different occasions, but the second half was pretty evenly played overall.
 
Bellarmine's Brian Wall turned in a hat trick to lead the Knights with Luke Legnard tallying BU's other goal. Morgan Macko and Ian Miller recorded assists for the Knights.
 
Detroit Mercy had a fairly balanced attack with Alec Gihooly tying Wall for game-high honors with three goals.
 
The Titans were the aggressor today, firing 35 shots to just 26 for Bellarmine and owning a 37-25 advantage in ground balls.
 
Bright spots for the Knights included Michael Autry winning 12 of 20 face-offs, and although goalie John Hulsman was saddled with the loss, the freshman totaled 13 saves with a 54 percent save percentage.
 
The loss drops Bellarmine to 1-4 this season while the Titans improve to 2-3.
 
The Knights return to action on Sunday when the face the No.18/19 Marquette Gold Eagles on day two of the Midwest Classic. Face-off is scheduled for 11 a.m.
 
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