LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The Bellarmine lacrosse team snapped a four-game losing skid in emphatic fashion on Saturday afternoon, handing Mercer a 12-6 loss in a Southern Conference game at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium.
The Knights clicked offensively and defensive in recording the win. Bellarmine tallied its second-highest goal total of the season while the defense pitched a second half shutout in tying its season low for goals yielded.
Bellarmine had numerous standout performances. Ian Miller recorded six points with three assists and three goals while Brian Wall notched his fourth hat trick of the year while dishing out a pair of assists.
Defensively, freshman goalie John Hulsman netted 11 saves in stopping 64.7 percent of Mercer's shots on goal. Meanwhile, the Bellarmine "D" collectively registered 15 caused turnovers with Eric Rubak leading the way with four.
The game opened decidedly in Mercer's favor with Pascal Coombs and Will McCarthy netting goals to stake the Bears to a 2-0 lead 8:49 into the game.
Miller responded with his first two goals of the game to knot the score at two apiece after quarter number one.
The Knights made it four straight with Graham Macko and Wall each scoring early in the second period before Nate Patterson answered for Mercer.
Bellarmine then took advantage of an extra man opportunity with Landon Trout seizing the scoring opportunity with an over the shoulder shot to give the Knights a 5-3 advantage. Less than 40 seconds later, Wall made is 6-3 at the midway point of the second quarter.
The Bears closed the first half with a 3-0 run over the last 3:58, and the teams went into halftime tied 6-6.
The second half belonged to Bellarmine with the Knights dominating nearly every statistic while outscoring Mercer 6-0. In the final 30 minutes, Bellarmine outshot Mercer 24-12 while matching them with six saves. The Knights also nearly doubled the Bears in ground balls at 12 to seven while committing five fewer turnovers (6-11). The biggest turnaround in the second half was at the face-off X. After winning just two of 13 in the first half, the Knights claimed a 5-2 advantage after halftime.
Bellarmine improves to 3-8 on the season and picks up its first conference win while moving to 1-4 in league play. The Bears fall to 4-8 overall and 2-3 in the SoCon.
The Knights will travel to Lexington, Virgina next Saturday face Virginia Military Institute in their final conference road game of the year. Game time is scheduled for noon.
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