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LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The VMI lacrosse team battled closely with the Bellarmine Knights for three periods, but four goals in the fourth period sealed the 13-8 victory for Bellarmine on Saturday at Trinity High School in Louisville, Ky. The Keydets (0-3) were paced by senior middie David Trimble (Oak Hill, Va./Oakton) who netted two goals and two assists, while Bellarmine (1-1) got five goals and an assist from Adam Gardner in the win.

For the first three periods, the game was about as close as it could be. The two teams were knotted after one, and Bellarmine held a slight one-goal advantage after the second and third periods. The Knights, however, took advantage of some key opportunities late with four goals to hold off their pesky opponents.

"We played pretty well for the most part," said head coach Doug Bartlett. "We just had a few lapses in the game, and it caught up to us late in the game."

Bellarmine, coming off a loss to #1 Duke on Tuesday, outshot the Kedyets in the contest 36-20, and had good success clearing the ball as they went 17-20.

After the Knights got on the board first at the 9:39 mark, VMI marched back to tie the game up as senior middie Joe Picariello (Sandwich, Mass./Sandwich) found the back of the net just a few minutes later. Will Collier (Centreville, Va./Woodberry Forest) gave the Keydets their first lead of the game with less than a minute remaining in the first off a Steve Long feed, but the Knights evened the score with just 19 ticks left on an unassisted goal.

The second session was a period of runs by both teams. After Bellarmine scored four unanswered goals to open the period, the Keydets bounced back with scores by David and Robert Trimble (Oak Hill, Va./Oakton), followed by a man-up goal by David Jacobs (Plainview, N.Y./Plainview JFK). Jacobs' goal would bring the Keydets within one, trailing at the half 6-5.

The Knights tallied goals from their top-two scorers at the beginning of the third, as Garett Kikot and Garnder each connected on scores. The two combined for eight of Bellarmine's 13 goals on the day.

But yet again, the Keydets fought back. David Trimble registered his second goal of the day at the 9:33 mark, and fellow middie Matt Harrison (Great Mills, MD/St. Mary's Ryken) converted a Robert Trimble feed for his first goal of the season. Harrison was also the third member of the Keydet's second line of middies that tallied goals on the day, something that coach Bartlett was very pleased with.

"The second line (of middies) played great for us today. (David) Jacobs, (Joe) Picariello and (Matt) Harrison each scored, and it's very helpful for us that get that production from them."

After the two teams traded scores over the next few minutes, the Knights held a slight 9-8 advantage and couldn't shake free from a relentless VMI squad.

"We fought back several times in the game," added Bartlett. "The guys never gave up, but eventually just couldn't get over the hump today."

Bellarmine netted a pair of goals to open the fourth period, and then began to pull the ball out and slow down the pace of the game. Their strategy worked, as they got four goals on 11 shots in the period, while holding the Keydets without a shot in the period for the second straight game.

Dan Frank (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright) played most of the minutes in the cage for VMI, recording six saves in the contest.

Despite a relentless performance, the Keydets dropped their third straight to open the 2006 season. They will look to turn things around on Friday, March 10 as they host Robert Morris University (1-2) at 3:00 p.m. at Patchin Field.

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VMI SCORING:

GOALS: Trimble, David 2; Trimble, Robert 1; Collier, Will 1; Harrison, Matt 1; Barnes, Charles 1; Jacobs, David 1; Picariello, Joe 1. ASSISTS: Hill, Kevin 2; Trimble, Robert 2; Long, Steve 1.

BELLARMINE SCORING:

GOALS: Gardner, Adam 5; Kikot, Garett 3; Norbraten, Justin 2; Adams, Cameron 1; Finnegan, Ray 1; Andersen, Shane 1. ASSISTS: Adams, Cameron 2; Burton, Mark 2; Gardner, Adam 1; Kikot, Garett 1; Norbraten, Justin 1.

Shots - VMI 20; BU 36.
Shots on Goal - VMI 15; BU 19.
Penalties - VMI 5/4:30; BU 6/5:00.
Man-Up Opportunities - VMI 2-6; BU 2-3.
Turnovers - VMI 6; BU 4.
Faceoffs - VMI 9-25; BU 16-25.
Clears - VMI 7-14; BU 17-20.

GOALIES - VMI: Frank, Dan 0-3 (60:00 minutes, 19 shots-6 saves, 13 GA); BU: Hutchins, JC 1-1 (60:00, 15-7, 8).