LOUISVILLE, Ky. – For three quarters, the Bellarmine Knights played the host Air Force Falcons evenly, but a lopsided second quarter gave the home team a 13-6 victory at Falcon Stadium in Bellarmine's 2019 season finale.
 
The game's momentum shifted to Air Force shortly after Bellarmine's Morgan Macko tied the score at two apiece with 13:47 remaining in the second period. The Falcons, which owned an 18-5 faceoff advantage, won the ensuing battle at the "X" and turned that into a goal just 12 seconds after Bellarmine had tied it.
 
That score—along with nine straight faceoff wins—propelled Air Force to an 8-1 run to close the quarter and go into halftime with a 10-3 advantage.
 
The score differential remained seven as each team tallied one goal in the third and two in the fourth to make the final 13-6.  The six goals tied a season-low for the Knights, but it came against a defense that leads the nation in goals against average.
 
The faceoff discrepancy helped fuel significant statistical advantages for the Falcons.  Air Force picked up 16 more ground balls (36-20) than Bellarmine and outshot the Knights 58-21.
 
"We knew we would have to play our best to come away with a win today," said Bellarmine Coach Jim Mitchell. "Unfortunately, Air Force pulled away in the second quarter, and we were not able to string together enough plays to close the gap in the second half."
 
Bellarmine's Riley Seay, Landon Trout and Macko came into today's game with at least one point in every game this season, and the trio kept the string going.  Seay netted a pair of goals while Macko added an assist to his goal and Trout scored once.
 
Luke Legnard paced the Bellarmine scoring with two goals and two assists while Ian Miller handed out three assists.
 
Gianni Orlando and Trey Lervick each recorded hat tricks to lead the Air Force attack, but perhaps the most impressive statistic for the Falcons was Trent Harper going 17 for 19 at the "X."
 
Air Force concludes the regular season 10-4 and tied for the Southern Conference title with a 6-1 record. Bellarmine ends its year at 3-10, 3-4 SoCon.
 
Two Bellarmine seniors came up with some important statistics to help etch their names in the Bellarmine record book.  With his three assists today, Miller ends his career tied for first on Bellarmine's career assists list, tying Karsen Leung with 45, and Josh Wehn added three caused turnovers in today's game to bring his career total to 36, third-most in school history.
 
Regardless of statistical records, Mitchell said this senior class has distinguished itself this season. "Our seniors went out representing Bellarmine with class and have provided a strong foundation for the rest of the program to follow," Mitchell said. "I am proud of how this team fought all year."  
 
Other note-worthy statistical performances this season include Seay's 123 shots, which sets a new single season Bellarmine record, and Jordan Dondoyano's 163 saves, which is the second-most in a season, falling short of All-American Dillon Ward's mark of 208 in the 2013 season. 
 
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