HIGH POINT, N.C.—The Bellarmine lacrosse team made a triumphant debut in the ASUN Conference as the Knights turned back the visiting Cleveland State Vikings 15-11 on Saturday afternoon at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium.
 
In the league opener for both teams, the Knights seized control in the second period and never lost the upper hand behind a three-goal, four-assist performance from sophomore Kyle Playsted, whose three scores were all worthy of the highlight reel. To score his first goal, Playsted literally rolled between the pipes.  His second goal was a reverse-pivot and rip from about 10 yards out, and his final score came on a flip of the wrist while diving in front of the goal after another crazy reverse pivot.
 
The game broke in favor of the Knights with Bellarmine winning the opening faceoff, but after Lukas Sinon notched the game's opening goal for Bellarmine, the visiting Vikings spurted out to a 4-1 lead about midway through the first quarter. 
 
Cleveland State stayed in front over a high-scoring opening 20 minutes, but the Knights slowly chipped away at their deficit before nosing in front 7-6 at the 7:25 mark of the second quarter.
 
Bellarmine never surrendered that lead, but the the Knights did have to withstand a CSU comeback attempt.   
 
After Bellarmine extended its advantage to 11-7 about six minutes into the third quarter, the Vikings stormed back with a 3-0 run to get within one.  After trading goals, the score was 12-11 Bellarmine with just under 10 minutes remaining in the game, and from there, the Knights closed the game on their own 3-0 run to claim the 15-11 victory.
 
In addition to leading on the scoreboard, the Knights also led on the stat sheet.  Bellarmine outshot the visitors 42-36 and had a 23-16 edge in shots on goal.  The Bellarmine coaching staff also had to be pleased with an 18-for-18 performance on clears and a 3-for-5 success rate on extra man opportunities. The Knights also found success at the faceoff off dot, where they held an 18-11 advantage.   
 
In addition to Playsted's big day, the Knights got hat tricks from both Brayden Brown and Benny O'Rourk while Denton Macdonald scored twice and handed out two assists. 
 
In goal, JC Higginbotham chalked up five saves on the day to move into third on Bellarmine's all-time list.  His 282 career saves trail only Dillon Ward (576) and JC Hutchins (315) on that list.

The Vikings spread their scoring around with four different players collecting two goals each.  Adam Clark added two assists to his pair of goals to pace Cleveland State with four points.
 
Bellarmine continues conference play next week when the Knights meet Robert Morris in Moon Township, Pennsylvania on Saturday.  The Colonials were 12-5 winners over Detroit Mercy in their ASUN debut today.
 
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