MOON TOWNSHIP, Penn. — Despite a five-goal performance from senior attack
John Alie, the Bellarmine University lacrosse team suffered a 14-11 loss to Robert Morris on Saturday at Joe Walton Stadium.
Robert Morris (5-3) pushed its winning streak to four straight games with the win over Bellarmine (4-5). The Colonials shifted the back-and-forth contest in their favor with a 4-0 run bridging the third and fourth quarters, and the Knights couldn't get closer than two goals thereafter.
Alie's five goals matched a season high and marked his sixth hat trick of the season. Through nine games, he's found the net 27 times. On Saturday, he bookended the scoring in the contest, but unfortunately for the Knights, the Colonials got the better of the in between.
Bellarmine shut out Robert Morris in the first quarter while taking a 2-0 lead. The Knights' advantage elevated to 4-1 in the second quarter, but the Colonials found their footing and scored five of the next six goals to take their first lead at 6-5 in the third period.
Alie knotted it up after attaining his latest hat trick, and senior attack
Michael Blaymires restored a Bellarmine lead off a feed from Alie with the first of his two goals. The Knights' final advantage came at 8-7 near the midway point of the third quarter off sophomore midfielder
Ty Washington's second goal.
Robert Morris followed with the pivotal 4-0 run extending the third and fourth periods, including a pair of goals only seconds apart as face-off Cristian Davis scored the latter. Four different Colonials were responsible for the goals during the burst, and 10 overall found the net in the contest.
Trailing 11-8 at that point, Alie's fourth goal cut Bellarmine's deficit to two with roughly nine minutes left, but RMU ostensibly turned back the Knights for good after registering the next two goals for a four-goal lead with a shade over five minutes remaining.
Sophomore attack
Ezra Moore collected two goals and three assists, and was credited with a career-high 10 ground balls for Bellarmine. It was the fourth time this season in which he registered at least three helpers. Freshman attack
Jack Fischel added a pair of assists.
The shots were nearly identical, with Bellarmine holding a 44-42 edge overall and Robert Morris claiming a slight 27-26 advantage on goal. Four of the Colonials' goals (4-of-6) compared to one for the Knights (1-for-2) came on man-up opportunities. RMU had six less turnovers than BU (19-13).
Bellarmine will play at noon (ET) Saturday at Rutgers.
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