LOUISVILLE, Ky.—For a team that Bellarmine Head Coach Andrew Whitley insists is defensive-minded, the Knights had an offensive field day in romping to a 24-12 win over Queens University of Charlotte in an ASUN Conference game at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium on Saturday.
 
The 24 goals set a new Bellarmine record for most in a game, and two different players tied the school record for most goals in a game with Christian Della Rocco and Kyle Playsted each registering six.  Playsted also tied his own program record of nine points in a game by dishing out three assists. Benny O'Rourk added five goals for the Knights, giving the BU starting attack line 17 goals and three assists.
 
"I was really happy with our attack today," Whitley said. "Those three are developing some real chemistry, and it showed today as they shot the ball extremely well (17 of 27 shots on target). They play off of each other so well and do a great job communicating through unscripted situations. There is a great deal of trust between them, and they have all adjusted their individual games to complement the other two. That willingness of each of them to adjust has caused the elevation of the entire collection and has been terrific to watch.
 
"Coach Ondrusek and Coach Marks have done a terrific job of putting those three in the right spots and developing their sense of the game," Whitley said. "The combination of that coaching structure and player evolution has given a pretty prolific attack."
 
The Knights (6-2, 1-1 ASUN) got off to a hot start, bolting out to a 4-0 lead in the first eight minutes of the game, but then a rash of Bellarmine penalties helped the visiting Royals trim the deficit to 4-3 late in the first quarter.
 
It was then the Knights' turn to go on a run.  Playsted notched the final goal of the opening period, then Bellarmine scored three early goals in the second quarter.  A two-minute non-releasable penalty on Queens then helped the Knights extend their run to 7-0 before a Della Rocco made it eight straight with an unassisted goal at the 7:09 mark of the second quarter.
 
Queens (1-6, 0-2 ASUN) answered with a 4-0 run to trim it to 12-7, but Della Rocco struck again with just eight seconds remaining to give BU a 13-7 seven lead at the break.
 
The Bellarmine defense then showed up in a big way in the second half to slam the door shut on any notions of a Queens comeback.  The Knights pitched a shutout defensively in the third quarter, the sixth time of the season they've held an opponent scoreless for an entire period. Meanwhile, the BU offense continued to hum along, posting seven more goals in the third quarter.

Bellarmine's lead grew as large as 22-7 early in the fourth quarter, but the Royals notched five goals in the final stanza to make the final margin 12.
 
For the game, the Knights enjoyed huge advantages in shots (53-32), shots on goal (38-22), and faceoffs (25-13), with the faceoff stat making an impression on Whitley.
 
"Aidan Fearn had a nice day at the "x," he said. "He helped us control tempo and that was critical to get our attack rolling. Our faceoff unit as a whole is going to play a big role against Mercer on Wednesday as they have the best FO man in the conference in Ashton Wood."
 
"It's nice to get back on the winning track," Whitley said, "but we have a quick turnaround for an extremely important conference game on Wednesday."
 
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