COLUMBUS, Ohio – Coming off a 21-goal performance on Saturday, the Bellarmine lacrosse team was able to muster just four goals Tuesday against a staunch Ohio State defense in a 16-4 loss.
 
The Knights fell to 1-2 in the early part of the season while the Buckeyes have now rallied for three straight wins, limiting their opponent to four goals each time, since dropping their opener to Utah.
 
Despite the lopsided score, head coach Andrew Whitley is looking at the positives.
 
"I was really pleased with how we played through about 40 minutes," he said. "Our guys competed and really held their own against a quality Big Ten opponent. To Ohio State's credit, they were able to carry tempo through most of the game and their depth and athleticism eventually got the best of us as the game wore on."
 
Ohio State made their statement early on Tuesday, rallying to a 4-0 lead before the Knights finally got on the board with 1.9 seconds left in the first quarter. Justin Wescoat was responsible for the Knights' first goal, his third of the season. The junior middie took a pass from behind X from freshman attack Ty Washington, moved to his right and fired from about 10 yards directly in front of the net to be Buckeyes keeper Caleb Fyock for Bellarmine's first score.
 
In a relatively quiet second quarter, a Knights goal was sandwiched by a pair of Buckeye goals. Reigning ASUN Player of the Week John Alie added the Knights' second tally, his eighth of the season, with 4:30 left in the half as the Knights would go into the half trailing 6-2.
 
"We took a little bit of time to settle in at the outset, but I was really happy with how we competed through the middle segment of the game in particular," said Whitley. "When you play the upper echelon teams, you cannot make mistakes because they are so good at capitalizing on them."
 
Bellarmine came out the break energized, taking the faceoff and scoring in just 10 seconds. Reigning ASUN Defensive Player of the Week Aidan Fearn won the faceoff before Robert MacMichael corralled it and threw it ahead to Jackson Campisano. Campisano scooped it off the ground and dumped it off to Michael Blaymires who fired in an underhand shot to cut the deficit to three at 6-3. The assist was the first of Campisano's career.
 
Despite the swift action by the Knights, Ohio State systematically responded by adding two more goals in just over the next two minutes. The Buckeyes would then tack on five more goals before the end of the third period, including three during the final 30 seconds to give them a commanding 13-3 lead entering the fourth.
 
After three more Buckeye goals, Washington added the third score of his young career with 4:06 left to bring the contest to its final score of 16-4.
 
Three Buckeyes—Garrett Haas, Alex Marinier and Ryan Donnery—registered hat tricks. Haas added three helpers for a game-high six points.
 
Ohio State controlled possession for most of the afternoon, winning 15 of 21 faceoffs (three days after Bellarmine set a program record with 27 faceoff wins) and winning the groundball battle 45-26. Bellarmine also committed 24 turnovers (18 caused by OSU) and the Buckeyes were able to unleash 58 shots (31 on goal) to Bellarmine's 18 (11 on goal).
 
"We missed several first-time groundballs that I think guys will want back, but that is why you play these types of teams," said Whitley. "We need to elevate our pace of play so that we are prepared for conference play, and the fact that we had those opportunities is a good sign long term. We will correct the physical errors. We had 24 turnovers and that had as much to do with Ohio State as it did with us. Our young attack got tested by some elite level athletes on the Ohio State defense and will grow from the experience."
 
Despite taking their lumps, Whitley points to his team's youth as a reason to maintain optimism.
 
"We have 37 freshmen on our roster and so many are significant contributors, so this is just the beginning of the journey," he said. "I see so many positives and small steps forward through our first three games."
 
With the high shot volume, Bellarmine keeper Nolan Hudnut recorded a career-high 15 saves after entering the game with 18 saves through the first two games.
 
"Nolan had another solid day and I believe embodies the growth I'm talking about," said Whitley. "He's a competitive kid who I know wants a couple of those shots back, but he was critical in keeping us in the game. It's only his third start and that statement is applicable to so many of our significant contributors right now."
 
Hudnut's counterpart, Fyock, made six saves in the cage for the Buckeyes.
 
The Knights continue their three-game road swing with a trip to Buffalo, N.Y., on Saturday to face Canisius (0-1) at 12 p.m. ET.
 
"The great thing is we will correct the errors from today over the next couple of days and we get a chance to turn right back around and compete again on Saturday," concluded Whitley. "I know our guys will be chomping at the bit to get back out there."
 
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