LOUISVILLE, Ky. – On Saturday at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium, the Bellarmine University lacrosse team will seek to conclude its Eastern College Athletic Conference slate on a high note. By contrast, the Knights' opponent, Fairfield University, which has shot up to No. 16 in the latest rankings, is hoping to open league play with a bang.

For Bellarmine (4-3, 0-3 ECAC), Saturday's contest, which starts at 1 p.m., ET marks the fourth and final conference game of the season for the Knights. Fairfield (6-2, 0-0), meanwhile, has eight games in the books – one more overall than the Knights – but the Stags thus far have no results in ECAC play.

Fairfield will pose another stiff challenge for Bellarmine, which is chasing its first victory this season in conference play after a 4-0 non-conference start. The Knights are coming off a 10-7 setback in Columbus to Ohio State, which was tabbed as the preseason favorite to win the ECAC by league coaches and ranked as high as seventh in lacrosse publications entering the season.

The Knights will face a streaking Stags squad that has won four straight games. Fairfield started its 2014 campaign strong with lopsided wins over Delaware (18-8) and Manhattan (18-4). The Stags hit a rough patch with losses to now-No. 19 Hofstra (9-7) and Providence (14-11) before a 12-11 win in overtime against current No. 11 Yale sparked their four-game unbeaten stretch. The string also included a convincing 11-5 win over then-No. 11 Massachusetts.

One big task for Bellarmine will be to find the net consistently against Jack Murphy. Fairfield's senior goalie was recently named the ECAC Defensive Player of the Week for the second straight week and third time overall this season. In wins against UMass and Holy Cross, Murphy posted a 7.00 goals-against average and tallied 18 saves. His 8.88 GAA is 17th in the nation.

Of course, Bellarmine's Will Haas is also formidable in goal, making Saturday's collision between the Knights and Stags especially intriguing around the nets. The senior goalie ranks 12th in the country with an 8.59 GAA, 23rd in save percentage (54.2) and 27th in saves per game (10.14).

Fairfield's offense ranks eighth nationally at 12.88 goals per game. Attempting to crack Haas for Fairfield will be, among others, Tristan Sperry, a junior attack who leads the ECAC in points with 29. The top four in that category in the league is peppered with Stags, as junior attack Colin McLinden ranks third with 25 and senior attack/midfielder Eric Warden is fourth with 24.

Coming at Murphy for Bellarmine will be freshman attack Tucker Ciessau, who has tallied a team-best 20 points, and senior midfielder Chad Mitchell, who has totaled 19. Along with Ciessau, freshman attack Austin Shanks ranks in the conference's Top 10 in goals with 13. Shanks netted a team-high two against the Buckeyes. Junior long stick middie Bobby Schmitt has collected 22 ground balls, good for sixth in the conference, and he's tied for fourth in caused turnovers (10) with teammate Sean Joyce, a senior defender.

This will be the second to last home game of the season for Bellarmine. The Knights will host High Point on Saturday, April 5 in their home finale at Frazier Stadium. Bellarmine will travel for remaining games with Marquette (April 1), Virginia (April 19) and Mercer (April 26).

Fans may watch the Bellarmine-Fairfield game live here or follow it on Live Stats here.