COLUMBUS, Ohio – Benny O'Rourk scored with one minute left in Bellarmine's a low-scoring struggle Tuesday afternoon at Ohio State to extend his scoring streak to 27 consecutive games, but the Knights' late rally was not enough as they fell, 10-6.
 
O'Rourk also added an assist and picked up three groundballs.
 
"This was a defensive battle against a top-20 team and I was extremely proud of how our guys battled and competed today," said Bellarmine head coach Andy Whitley. "Contests like this usually come down to five inflection point plays that ultimately decide the contest and, today, those plays didn't go our way.  Two goals with under one second in a quarter and a couple of missed groundballs off rebounds that OSU put away became decisive plays particularly when goals were hard to come by."
 
Ohio State (3-0) dealt the Knights crushing blows with goals by Ben Mayer and Gannon Matthews with under one second on the clock in both the first and third quarters, respectively. OSU controlled possession by winning 10 of 18 faceoffs and causing 15 Bellarmine turnovers. Bellarmine (1-2) caused just eight turnovers.
 
"It felt a little like playoff lacrosse particularly with a quick turnaround from Sunday," added Whitley.
 
Defenseman Nick Ferge scored the first goal of the afternoon for either team with just over two minutes gone in the game, but Bellarmine would not beat Ohio State goalie Caleb Fyock again until Kyle Playsted scored a minute and a half into the third quarter. Ohio State scored six unanswered goals between the Knights' scores to lead 6-2.
 
Ohio State's defense would remain impenetrable as they allowed their offense to score the next four goals, putting Bellarmine at a 10-2 deficit with 12:14 left in the game. The Knights fended off Ohio State the rest of the way and scored the last four goals to bring the game to its final tally of 10-6.
 
The Knights were 9-0 in 2023 and 1-0 this season in games in which they allowed 10 or fewer goals. Today's game was the first such they had lost since the 2022 regular season finale, a 9-7 defeat at Air Force.
 
"Defensively we are settling in and the chemistry is really starting to come together. Brady Long and Chris Reynolds are stalwarts for us and are becoming the backbone of this year's unit," said Whitley.
 
Six different players scored Bellarmine's six goals: Ferge, Playsted, John Alie, Justin Wescoat, O'Rourk and Jackson Campisano. It was the first time the Knights failed to produce a multi-goal scorer since consecutive losses to High Point and Jacksonville in March of 2022.
 
"I thought we had to grind to generate offense, but we had chances we just couldn't convert today," Whitley said. "I think we learned how hard we have to dodge. If that translates moving forward, we lost a game to gain a powerful lesson. If that happens, we are going to be a very tough out come tournament time"
 
Senior goalie JC Higginbotham, like his counterpart, Fyock, recorded eight saves for the Knights.
 
Matthews, a transfer from Bellarmine's ASUN foe Cleveland State, and Ed Shean both recorded hat tricks for the Buckeyes.
 
Bellarmine hosts Canisius (0-1) in their home opener this Saturday at noon at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium.
 
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