LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Bellarmine lacrosse team welcomes a pair of Atlantic Sun foes to Owsley B. Frazier Stadium this week. Robert Morris will visit Wednesday before Cleveland State arrives for a Saturday tilt. Opening faceoff for both games is set for 12 p.m. ET.
 
"This is a big week of lacrosse for us against a couple of longtime rivals as we head down the stretch of conference play," said Bellarmine head coach Andrew Whitley.
 
Bellarmine (7-5, 3-2 ASUN) will be looking to make a statement in the ASUN standings following a frustrating 11-7 loss at Air Force on Saturday. Robert Morris (3-7, 2-3 ASUN) comes in having won two of four following a 1-5 start.
 
"We haven't beaten Robert Morris since 2016, but these two programs have been linked since they started lacrosse back in 2005," said Whitley. "The game has been played nearly every year and has been a bit of rivalry, which is legitimately palpable when these two programs square off."
 
Bellarmine is 8-9 all-time against Robert Morris and has lost six straight by a combined 90-52. RMU won 21-13 last year in Moon Township, Penn. Kyle Playsted accounted for six points on four goals and two assists while Christian Della Rocco scored three times and added an assist, but four Colonials scored hat tricks en route to the win.
 
Playsted enters play Wednesday three assists away from becoming the first Knight with 100 career assists. Against Air Force, he became the first Knight with 200 career points (103 goals, 97 assists).
 
The Colonials come in averaging just 8.80 goals per game, currently 66^th in the nation, though they have eclipsed 13 goals twice in their last four games.
 
"Elliot Holden and David Burr lead a prolific offense that is extremely dangerous in unsettled situations," said Whitley. "We are going to need to defend transition when they create it and take advantage of the counter strike opportunities that could be available if we defend those chances."
 
Holden leads RMU with 34 points, nearly evenly split between goals (18) and assists (16). Burr leads the team with 22 goals and scored four times against the Knights last year.
 
The Colonials' top strength, perhaps, is controlling the X as they rank first in the ASUN and 22^nd in the nation winning 54 percent of faceoffs.
 
"Their faceoff unit of Bo Columbus and Steven DelleMonache are very effective and provide an extremely impact one-two punch which allows them to control tempo and keep them in a lot of ball games," Whitley said.
 
The Vikings of Cleveland State (6-5, 3-2 ASUN) pay the Knights a visit on Saturday. Bellarmine is 4-3 all-time against CSU and has won three straight. Bellarmine won 13-8 last year in northern Ohio. Playsted tallied six points on three goals and three assists and Benny O'Rourk added three goals and an assist.
 
"Cleveland State has an extremely balanced offence with four guys having at least 20 points," Whitley said. "All four guys are freshmen or sophomores and make CSU a very dangerous team as they continue to grow and evolve."
 
The offensive quartet includes attackmen Alex Van Voorhis (24 points), Parker Yearego (22), Wyatt Robertson (20) and midfielder Amiri Austin (24).
 
"Those four young guys are leading the way of a very balanced offense that is difficult to cover because they share the ball and do not rely on one guy to generate goals," Whitley said. "They share the ball extremely well."
 
Fifth-year senior James Leary leads the way for the Colonials defense, accumulating 25 groundballs and causing 19 turnovers.
 
"Defensively, they are starting to find their groove giving up fewer than 10 goals in five of the last seven games," Whitley said. "Connor Kernan has settled in as a solid, reliable goalie and is anchoring their defense right now."
 
Another senior, Kernan has started the last six games for the Vikings, earning the win in four. He has recorded double-digit saves in each of the past four games.
 
"CSU is playing great lacrosse at the exact right time and we will be expecting a playoff-caliber conference game on Saturday," Whitley concluded.
 
Cleveland State hosts Queens on Wednesday afternoon before heading down I-71.
 
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