MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The Bellarmine men's lacrosse team got big afternoons from ASUN Player of the Year candidate John Alie and true freshman Ezra Moore Tuesday at Valley Fields, but it would not be enough to down Marquette as the Golden Eagles earned a 19-11 win.
 
"This was a tough one because every inflection point play went in Marquette's favor," said Bellarmine head coach Andrew Whitley. "It was frustrating because I do believe it was more about our errors than Marquette's execution. We made two very undisciplined plays late in the third quarter when we had closed their lead to two. We also had three failed clears along the way that ended up in the back of the net when we attempted to make plays we specifically told our guys not to push in pregame scout. To Marquette's credit, they took advantage of the opportunities we presented. We need to make better decisions in those critical moments—that's how you win competitive games at this level."
 
The Golden Eagles controlled possession well, picking up 62.7 percent of ground balls, winning 63.6 percent of faceoffs and causing 13 turnovers to the Knights' six.
 
"We also need to be much tougher on ground balls," Whitley added. "The number of missed first-time ground balls on the faceoff and potential possession-ending plays on defense was way too high and we'll need to correct that moving forward."
 
"There are still some positives to draw from this," Whitley continued. "We are slowly starting to find our identity and learn what it means to compete and ultimately be successful. We are not where we need to be, but we are making progress. Ezra and John continue to produce at a high rate and are certainly bright spots offensively."
 
Alie and Moore each tallied six points with Alie finding the goal four times and dishing out two helpers while Moore's total was split evenly between goals and assists. The six points for Moore established a new career high after he registered five points in his second collegiate game against Mercyhurst.
 
In the first quarter, Marquette (3-3) jumped out to a 4-0 lead before Bellarmine (3-5) battled back with three straight goals to conclude the period with the home team leading 4-3. The final goal of the frame was an overhand bouncing shot out of the long-stick crosse of Nick Ferge, who attended Marquette University High School just a couple of miles from Valley Fields.
 
As in the first, Bellarmine endured a slow start to the second quarter as Marquette scored the first three goals of the before Moore scored his second with 10:55 left to make it 7-4 in favor of the Golden Eagles. Marquette, though, would again respond with three more scores before Moore again stopped the bleeding with his third. Joe Alie added the Knights final score of the first half off a feed from brother John Alie from behind X with 1:08 left, but Marquette tacked on one more goal with 51 seconds remaining to take an 11-6 lead into the break.
 
Coming out of halftime, the Knights looked poised to make a comeback as they found the back of the cage three straight times, capped by a man-up goal by Michael Blaymires to cut the deficit to two at 11-9. Bellarmine's defense held Marquette scoreless for nearly 13½ minutes before Marquette finally scored with 1:32 left. The Golden Eagles would add another score with just three seconds left to carry a 13-9 advantage into the fourth.
 
The Knights would not go away in the final period as Justin Wescoat and Alie each scored goals, but Marquette would add six more to bring the game to its final score at 19-11.
 
In the cage for Bellarmine, freshman keeper Nolan Hudnut recorded a career-high 18 saves for the second time in four days as he faced 50 shots, 37 on goal.
 
"Nolan continues to be a stabilizing force in the goal," Whitley said. "If we can give him a chance to see the ball and if we contest shots, he's going to give us a chance in every contest."
 
The 19 goals for Marquette were a season high as they were paced by Bobby O'Grady's eight points on three goals and five assists and Nolan Rappis's five goals and one assist.
 
Marquette keeper Lucas Lawas saved just five of the 16 shots on goal hurled his way by the Knights.
 
Bellarmine returns home this Saturday to take on Robert Morris at 12 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
 
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