LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Although the schedule says the Bellarmine lacrosse team plays its last regular season game of the year on Saturday at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium, the reality of the situation is that the Knights are essentially already in the postseason: win and the season keeps going; lose and the season's over.
When the Knights face off against the Jacksonville Dolphins at noon, both teams are playing to extend their seasons.
Bellarmine enters in sole possession of fourth place in the Southern Conference, and with the top four teams advancing to the championship tourney, assessing the Knights' situation is easy: win and they're in.
The Dolphins, meanwhile, could tie the Knights for fourth with a victory, and that outcome coupled with a High Point loss, would give Jacksonville the No. 4 seed.
The final scenario is High Point defeating Air Force and the Knights falling to Jacksonville, resulting in a three-way tie for fourth with High Point owning the tiebreaker.
The Knights have the added emotion of senior day on Saturday, as Bellarmine will honor seniors
Tanner Barco,
Tucker Ciessau,
Kevin Fahey,
Graham Macko,
Tyler Nangle,
Jack Perkins,
Andrew Schoeneck, and
Dylan Sprock in a pregame ceremony.
Bellarmine enters the Jacksonville game 4-8 overall with a 3-3 league record. Offensively, Ciessau, who is the reigning SoCon Offensive Player of the Week, leads the Knights in goals (22), assists (15), and points (37). Last week against Mercer, the senior provided three of Bellarmine's 12 goals and delivered two assists, including the pass that led to the game-winning goal with just over a minute remaining. He comes into Saturday's game ranked third in the SoCon in points per game at 3.08.
Jacksonville has won just two of their 12 games, but both have come in league play to post a SoCon record of 2-4. The Dolphins defeated Mercer and VMI both on the road for their victories.
The Dolphins are led by McLean Chicquen, who ranks seventh in the league in points per game with a 2.33 average. Eric Applegate, meanwhile, is tied with Ciessau for fourth in the SoCon at 1.25 assists per game.
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