LOUISVILLE, Ky. – For the second time this week, the Bellarmine lacrosse team needed to rally from four goals down to win a conference home contest. Cleveland State was the Knights' victim Saturday afternoon at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium in a 14-9 Bellarmine win.
 
"This was another tough, grind-it-out conference game for us," said Bellarmine head coach Andrew Whitley. "Cleveland State is having a terrific season and came out today and played great and really carried and controlled tempo throughout the first half."
 
The Knights (9-5, 5-2 ASUN) have now won five of their last six games and sit alone in fourth place in the Atlantic Sun with two regular season games remaining.
 
Three Knights registered hat tricks in the comeback effort, led by Kyle Playsted, who recorded at least six points for the third time this year. The senior captain finished with three goals and three assists to bring his program-record totals to 107 goals and 104 assists.
 
Benny O'Rourk scored the first goal of the game for the Knights after they fell behind 3-0. The goal extended his consecutive-game scoring streak to 36 games and the senior captain would add two more goals for his third hat trick of the season.
 
"Kyle and Benny played like the All-Conference attackmen they are," said Whitley.
 
Junior midfielder Justin Wescoat tallied the Knights' third hat trick, his first since the Knights' ASUN Tournament game against Utah in 2022.
 
"Justin dodged with purpose today and scored three very important unassisted goals," said Whitley. "He is such a critical initiator to our offense and when he scores goals, he opens up so much for the attack and John Alie."
 
One game after matching the Bellarmine record with six goals, John Alie scored just once on Saturday on a running scoop shot between the goalie's legs late in the third. Denton Macdonald and Christian Della Rocco also scored single goals, as did a pair of Knights defensemen, Brady Long and Tommy Fialkowski.
 
In the cage for his first career start, Jack Bryant secured 12 saves on 21 shots (.571 save percentage) and earned his second straight win since relieving JC Higginbotham, who suffered a season-ending injury during the first quarter on Wednesday.
 
"Jack provided another solid performance and is gaining confidence," Whitley said. "There is no substitute for game experience and he is definitely gaining poise with each passing moment."
 
Cleveland State (7-6, 4-3 ASUN) jumped out to a 6-2 lead with 7:44 left in the second quarter. But, that would be as good as it would get for the Vikings as the Knights proceeded to rip off a 10-2 run from that point until the end of the third quarter to go up 12-8 before winning by a five-goal margin.
 
"It's a credit to the people in our locker room that we were able to stay the course and weather Cleveland State's push," said Whitley. "We came out with renewed energy in the second half and were able to create transitions and open the game up."
 
Whitley also attributed Grant Guthrie's work as a big reason for the swing on the scoreboard. Guthrie won 13-of-23 faceoffs taken (.565).
 
"Grant got going at the faceoff X and provided a huge spark in the second half as we were able to take control of the pace of the game," he said.
 
Adding to the difficulty Saturday, Bellarmine had to overcome their 11 penalties, which were three more than they have been whistled for in any other game this season. Those flags led to three Vikings extra-man goals in eight chances (.375) against a Bellarmine defense that entered the game tied for the ninth-best extra-man defense in the nation, only allowing goals on just 25 percent of their opponents' extra-man opportunities. Just one penalty was called against CSU and Bellarmine did not convert on its lone extra-man opportunity.
 
Still, the Knights were able to overcome the slow start, despite also playing with heavy hearts.
 
"The last week or so has been very emotional with the loss of three seniors to season-ending injuries (Harrison Pate, Lukas Sinon and Higginbotham) and the passing of Denton's mom to neuroendocrine cancer," said Whitley. "The guys rallied around each other this afternoon. It was a cathartic day as we competed together."
 
The win secures Bellarmine's spot in the ASUN Championship in Colorado. The top six in the 10-team conference earn their chance at a conference title and an NCAA Tournament bid, with the top two teams earning byes.
 
"It's a tremendous accomplishment to qualify for the conference tournament for the third straight year and I'm very happy for the guys," Whitley concluded. "We still have a shot at the ASUN title and we're scrapping out wins at the right time of year. It's survive-and-advance time."
 
CSU saw their modest two-game winning streak snapped, dropping them down from a fourth-place tie with Bellarmine in the ASUN standings to being alone in fifth place.
 
The Vikings were led by Alex Van Voorhis' four points on a goal and three assists. Gavin Held scored twice and also registered an assist.
 
The Knights wrap up their home schedule at 12 p.m. ET next Saturday against Detroit Mercy. Bellarmine will honor its departing seniors with Career Appreciation Day ceremonies.
 
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