via JU press release   JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After a stifling first half by both teams’ defense, Jacksonville University men’s lacrosse broke through with five goals in the third quarter to surge the Dolphins to a 9-5 win over Bellarmine in Southern Conference action, Saturday afternoon at D.B. Milne Field. The Dolphins’ win marks the first time since 2014 – the lone year the ASUN Conference sponsored the sport – that Jacksonville has opened its league slate with a 2-0 mark. Jacksonville (4-4, 2-0 SoCon) opened conference play with two or more wins in just two other seasons: the 2011 team began MAAC action 2-0 before finishing the season 3-3 against conference opponents, and the historic 2013 Dolphin team posted a 4-0 MAAC record en route to the program’s only regular season league title. “Today was an incredible learning lesson for our team. I am very disappointed with our execution, but any time we can learn from a game while still winning, we will be grateful,” stated Head Coach John Galloway. “We were impatient on offense and undisciplined on defense, but our goalie and faceoff game were elite. Winning games at this level is very hard. We found a way to win it ugly, and we need to get back to work Monday with greater purpose, urgency, and character. I can’t wait for Monday.” Just three shots found the back of the net – including two from the Dolphins – in the opening 30 minutes. Junior Will Hendrick opened up scoring with 1:13 remaining in the first quarter when he rolled off his defender and found a gap from 15 yards out. Jacksonville added to its lead half less than five minutes into the second when freshman Gavin Dembeck cut to the crease and buried a pass from X by junior Eric Applegate to put the Dolphins ahead, 2-0, with 10:36 before halftime. The Knights (2-6, 0-2 SoCon) found an answer in the form of a slick behind-the-back goal from Landon Trout at the 8:02 mark, and the Dolphins held for a 2-1 lead at halftime. Coming out the intermission, Jacksonville received back-to-back goals from freshman Jeremy Winston (10:22) from 20 yards out, followed by a quick goal in transition as redshirt-freshman Tommy Barnhorst connected with sophomore Dwayne Mattushik (9:25). The Dolphins continued their offensive strike with a 4-0 run despite a goal slipped in by the Knights at the 7:45 mark. Mattushik added two more tallies, once again finding a pass from Barnhorst (5:28) before finishing a pass from senior captain Chase McIntyre (2:42) to put the Dolphins ahead 6-2. Senior Shawn Ewert had a hand in the next two goals, as the Dublin, Ohio native closed out the third with rebound off a shot with 1:58 to go, then dished a pass to senior captain McLean Chicquen at the 12:51 mark in the fourth to give the Dolphins their largest lead of the game, 8-2. Junior goalie Hunter Sells excelled throughout the game, but was tested the most during the third as the Bethesda, Md. native totaled four of his nine saves – many of them through traffic or right in front of the crease. Bellarmine tallied three of the next four, though Ewert broke up the Knights’ run and again cleaned up in front of the goal with an identical ground ball-and-rebound goal with 6:27 on the clock. The Knights managed a final tally with 19 seconds remaining, but the game was firmly out of reach with the Dolphins successfully defending D.B. Milne Field, 9-5. Jacksonville recorded 10 more shots (41-31), picked up six more ground balls (31-25), and turned the ball over three times less (19-16) than Bellarmine. The Dolphins also held a strong advantage on restarts, as senior Hunter Forbes won 11-of-15 and scooped nine ground balls. Mattushik (3 goals) and Ewert (2g, 1a) paced the Dolphins with three points each, while Applegate, redshirt-junior and captain Max Hartong, redshirt-junior Sam Dovan, and Chicquen all caused a pair of Knight turnovers. The Dolphins hit the road for a four-game road swing, beginning next Saturday, March 31 with a noon contest at High Point.