Someone call Houston. The Golden Eagles have been sent back to earth.
Despite being the heavy favorite, No. 13/12 Marquette (8-2, 1-1 Big East) lacrosse was blown out by Bellarmine 9-3. The game was the first non-conference loss of the season, and the second time in two seasons Bellarmine (3-5) defeated the Golden Eagles.
Marquette’s three goals came from redshirt junior midfielder Kyle Whitlow, graduate student attackman Jordan Greenfield and junior attackman Conor Gately. The three goals ties the program record for fewest goals in a game, set against Duke in the inaugural season. The fewest goals they had this season prior to today was nine.
Greenfield now has 23 goals on the season, tying Tyler Melnyk and Whitlow’s shared record for single-season goals.
Sophomore goalie Jimmy Danaher made 14 saves. Junior Matt Barone replaced Danaher late in hopes of forcing a turnover. He failed to make a save and gave up three goals, leading the final score to look more lopsided than the game.
Freshman Austin Shanks, Bellarmine’s leading scorer this season, was dominant for the Knights, scoring three goals and three assists.
The loss will hurt in the rankings, even if the Golden Eagles defeat St. John’s on Saturday. It also likely eliminates Marquette from the at-large bid conversation for the NCAA Tournament. If the Golden Eagles hope to keep their tournament hopes alive, they’ll likely now need to win the Big East tournament.
The Golden Eagles issues started in the faceoff X, as the team only won one of seven draws in the first half. Marquette tried out each of its faceoff specialists, but none were able to find any consistency against freshman Connor Harryman. K.C. Kennedy took a majority of the faceoffs, and went two for nine. Neither freshman Owen Weselek nor junior Gryphin Kelly were able to come up with a draw, as they lost two and three respectively.
Both teams come out of the gate rather sloppy, and it wasn’t until 12 minutes in that Whitlow scored the first goal of the game. Marquette struck first, but Bellarmine went on a four goal run and never trailed again. Greenfield and Gately’s goals in the third period make it a one-goal lead, but Bellarmine continued to dominate possession. They extended their lead to 6-3 before Marquette’s aggressive paly allowed the Knights to pull away.
Marquette gets a change for redemption Saturday when they play their first home game of the season against St. John’s. The Red Storm are 3-7 on the season, but are coming off a 17-7 win over Providence this weekend.
