LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The Bellarmine University lacrosse team knew its postseason chances were on the line, and the Knights delivered in a big way today posting a convincing 15-8 Senior Day victory over the visiting Furman Paladins in rain-soaked Owsley B. Frazier Stadium.

The victory secured Bellarmine (6-8, 4-3 SoCon) its first postseason appearance in school history as the Knights nailed down the No. 4 seed in next week's Southern Conference postseason championship tournament.

Bellarmine will face off against top-seeded Air Force at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 5 in Robins Stadium on the campus of Richmond University. The championship game will be played Saturday, May 7 at noon. The other semifinal game features No. 2 Richmond taking on No. 3 High Point.

Bellarmine Head Coach Kevin Burns called today's win historic. "It's the first time in program history that we made the playoffs.  Now it's win and keep going, so we're going to try and keep extending this thing."

In today's game, the Knights surrendered an early goal, but then poured on the offense with fourth straight scores to take the lead and never look back as Bellarmine matched its season high of 15 goals.  

Jack Perkins led the Knights' attack with four goals while Tucker Ciessau added a score and three assists. Nine different players netted goals for Bellarmine, and six Knights had assists. Senior Daniel Zamora dished out three of BU's 10 assists.

"They guys came in with great intensity and great energy," said Burns. "They put together 60 minutes, which is something we've been looking for all year." His message to the team after the game was, "This wasn't a fluke … this is what we're capable of doing."

The solid play was found all over the field for the Knights. Connor Harryman had another strong performance, winning 19 of 26 faceoffs. The Bellarmine defense shut out the Paladins (2-11, 2-5) in the third quarter, allowing the Knights to extend a 6-4 halftime advantage into a five-goal advantage heading into the final quarter.

Freshman goalie Max Cartor played all 60 minutes between the pipes for the Knights and picked up his first collegiate victory.

Prior to the game, Bellarmine recognized its 12 seniors who played for the final time at Frazier Stadium. Those being recognized included: Ben Charpentier, Chris Cousins, Dylan Gatt, Shane Healey, Brogan Hill, Cole Killion, Michael Plisco, Bobby Schmitt, Nick Soriano, Taylor Stuart, Reid Wesley and Daniel Zamora.



BOX  SCORE (HTM)