LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Bellarmine University men's lacrosse team welcomes Mercyhurst to Owsley B. Frazier Stadium Saturday at 12 p.m. ET for their 2025 home opener.
 
Live coverage of the game will be carried on ESPN+.
 
The game for Mercyhurst will be their first as a Division I program. Last Saturday on NCAA lacrosse's opening day, the Lakers played a pair of scrimmages against Canisius, who Bellarmine will play February 15, and the Rochester Institute of Technology. Mercyhurst competes in the Northeast Conference and will share seven opponents with the Knights this season.
 
The Knights are coming off a 26-7 loss at No. 7 Duke to start the campaign and will be looking for their first win.
 
In the season opener in Durham, N.C., junior middie John Alie and junior attack/middie Michael Blaymires each recorded braces while Alie added an assist for a team-leading three points. Freshman attack Ezra Moore scored a goal and added a helper in his collegiate debut. Junior middie Justin Wescoat and junior attack Ethan Tunucci also added goals, the latter being the first of his career. Freshman attack Ty Washington registered an assist and freshman keeper Nolan Hudnut made 10 saves in their first college action. Senior faceoff specialist Aidan Fearn, who last season led the Knights with a .548 faceoff win percentage, won 11 of his 21 faceoffs (.523).
 
"Our guys are looking forward to getting back on the field this Saturday," said head coach Andrew Whitley. "We've learned a lot from our opener and I believe we've cleaned up a bunch of physical/correctable errors. The experience against Duke is invaluable and our guys are excited to apply the lessons learned in our home opener."
 
Those lessons will need to be applied in a matchup with a Mercyhurst team that went 13-5 in their final season at the Division II level, winning the Great Midwest Athletics Conference regular season and tournament titles. The Lakers, however, as a 5-seed were bounced by 4-seed Pace in the opening round of the NCAA II Tournament.
 
The program from Erie, Pa., returns their most important player from a season ago in graduate attack Ethan Landymore. The Okotoks, Alberta, native led the Lakers in scoring, finishing with 48 goals and 16 assists for 64 points. He was named GMAC Offensive Player of the Year, while also earning Division II All-America honorable mention laurels from USA Lacrosse. Also back for the Lakers is senior middie Jérémi Phoenix-Lefebvre. The Terrebonne, Quebec, native finished the season with 37 goals and 21 assists for 58 points, which earned him GMAC First Team honors and All-America honorable mention notice from USA Lacrosse, as well.
 
"Mercyhurst will present their own set of challenges," said Whitley. "As this is a new opponent for us, there are a bunch of unknowns going into this game. However, anytime a team wins 13 games and returns its top five scorers, they are going to present some challenges. Given that this is their opener, I would expect that we will get an inspired effort. They have been extremely prolific offensively and our guys are excited to take on the challenge of such a veteran Laker team."
 
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