LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The Bellarmine lacrosse team's slow start sealed its fate in a 15-12 loss to the Mercer Bears in an ASUN Conference game at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium on Wednesday afternoon. 
 
The visiting Bears (3-7,-2-2 ASUN) racked up seven of their 15 goals in the first quarter, then finished the second period by pouring in five goals in the final 5:27 to take a 12-5 advantage at the break.
 
After halftime, Bellarmine (6-3, 1-2 ASUN) fought back by pitching a shutout in the third quarter and trimmed the deficit to just two.  The Knights had the chance to get within one on an extra man opportunity with about six minutes remaining in the game, but the Mercer defense held firm, and then the Bears were able to kill most of the shot clock before finding the back of the cage for a 14-11 lead with just over three and a half minutes left in the game.  From there, the Bears notched a man-up goal before the Knights answered in the final minute to make the final 15-12.
 
"We got outplayed out of the gate today and dug ourselves too deep of a hole to get out of," said Bellarmine Head Coach Andrew Whitley.
 
"I was happy with the fight we showed coming out of halftime, and we played really good lacrosse for the majority of the second half," Whitley added. "We had our chances, but their goalie proved to be the difference at the end of the day. I was really happy with the shots we generated, but we just didn't convert enough of them to overcome the deficit we created for ourselves."
 
Final statistics reflect a close game with Mercer holding slight edges in shots (44-42), shots on goal (27-26), and saves (14-12).  However, the Bears enjoyed big advantages in faceoffs (19-11) and ground balls (31-21).
 
Individually, both teams had a player with five goals.  Christian Della Rocco accomplished the feat for Bellarmine while Mercer's Parker Junod matched that while adding a pair of assists. 
 
Other top producers for the Knights were Kyle Playsted with four assists, and both Benny O'Rourk and Justin Wescoat registered two goals.  Dante Batista came on in goal for the Knights, and recorded 12 saves in the final three quarters.
 
Whitley said the Knights have some things to work on before their next game. "We're going to have to correct the mistakes in the first half we made all over the field," he said. "There were a couple of undisciplined and ultimately untimely penalties that we will address that killed momentum. We are capable of much better than we played today, but we were not the better team this afternoon and that is really disappointing from a focus, energy, and discipline standpoint."
 
Bellarmine returns to action on Saturday when they'll travel to St. Charles, Missouri to face ASUN and Division I newcomer Lindenwood.