SAINT BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – The Bellarmine lacrosse team controlled St. Bonaventure from start to finish in a 13-9 win Sunday afternoon in western New York. The Knights improved to 3-1 all-time against the Bonnies.
 
"This was a gritty, early-season road game for us," said Bellarmine head coach Andy Whitley. "We overcame a hot goalie and were able to grind out a win."
 
Sophomore John Alie led the way for Bellarmine (1-1), scoring a career-high five goals on nine shots (seven on goal). He also added an assist and scooped up a pair of ground balls.
 
"John Alie had a breakout game today and is becoming an integral part of the offense," said Whitley. "He is turning himself into a dangerous dodging threat and that is going to open things up for our offense as the season progresses."
 
The win was the 20^th in the Bellarmine career for senior goalkeeper JC Higginbotham. He passed Dillon Ward (19 wins) for the most in program history.
 
"I'm really happy for JC Higginbotham," said Whitley. "Any time you pass Dillon Ward in the record books, that's a pretty significant achievement."
 
"It's credit to him that's he's become such a reliable part of our defense, given that he's been such a significant part of this program's evolution for so long," Whitley added about Higginbotham. "He's been an integral part of so many of those Bellarmine victories."
 
Senior Denton Macdonald had a career day on defense. He recorded career highs by picking up six groundballs and causing five turnovers. He also added a goal.
 
"Denton Macdonald continues to make plays all over the field and is probably the best all-around lacrosse player in our program," Whitley said of his captain midfielder. "Six groundballs, five caused turnovers and a goal is the stat line of a pro. He was hugely impactful at every turn."
 
Senior Kyle Playsted notched a pair of scores to increase his program-best career goals total to 86.
 
Kellen Pulera scored a team-high four goals for St. Bonaventure (0-1) in their season opener.
 
The Knights jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first three-and-a-half minutes on goals by Alie and Jaden Wilkins. They led 5-2 at the end of the first quarter.
 
The Bonnies would score the final two goals of the second period to cut a four-goal Knights lead to two heading into halftime, 7-5.
 
A dominant 3-1 third quarter that was followed up by three straight goals in the fourth quarter helped the Knights put the game out of the reach of the Bonnies, 13-6. The Bonnies scored the final three goals of the game, but it would not be enough to catch the Knights.
 
Bellarmine's six second-half goals were scored by six different players: Macdonald, Alie, Lukas Sinon, Wilson Murphree, Tayo Oladunmoye and Playsted.
 
Senior Benny O'Rourk also scored once on Sunday afternoon to extend his scoring streak to 26 consecutive games. It was his 80^th career goal, third-most in program history.
 
Possession was key for the Knights Sunday afternoon as they won 56 percent of faceoffs compared to 31 percent last week at Duke.
 
"I give my staff a lot of credit for a couple tweaks we made with regards to the faceoff unit this week," said Whitley. "We were able to secure the ball at a much higher rate. Jackson Campisano's five groundballs definitely helped tip the scales at the Faceoff X today."
 
It wasn't a perfect game for Bellarmine, but Whitley was happy with what he saw.
 
"There are some early season errors and stickiness we need to clean up, but road wins are hard to come by at this level so we will take the lessons from this game and learn from them as we face our next challenge on Tuesday."
 
Bellarmine will have Monday off before they battle Ohio State in Columbus on Tuesday afternoon at 4 p.m. ET. B1G+ will have the live coverage.
 
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