AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – The Bellarmine lacrosse team will look for their first Atlantic Sun Conference win in their first conference road game of the season this Saturday in the Rocky Mountains. The Knights are set to take on Air Force at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
 
Bellarmine (6-6, 0-1 ASUN) is coming off a closely played 11-9 loss at home to Utah in their ASUN opener while Air Force (2-7, 0-1 ASUN) fell at Jacksonville on Saturday by a 15-11 final. Air Force's wins have come over Quinnipiac (RPI No. 72) and Mercer (RPI No. 68), though each of their losses have come inside the top 40 of the RPI.
 
Bellarmine head coach Andrew Whitley is well aware of what the Falcons bring to the table offensively, despite their record, as they rank second in the ASUN to Bellarmine both in scoring offense (10.78 goals per game) and shot percentage (.320).
 
"Air Force is a very consistent program and they are led by three very prolific offensive players," he said. "Caelen Driggs, Josh Yago and Wes Peene are having terrific seasons and have been the corps of their production all season. Driggs has evolved from an inside finisher into a very dangerous secondary dodger. Yago is a dynamic two-handed X presence and has been at or near the top of our scouting report his entire career. Peene is a big, strong athletic kid who jumpstarts their offense and gets to the goal. He has a big right-handed shot we need to be aware of at all times as he can stretch the field."
 
Yago (three goals), Peene (one goal and one assist) and Driggs (one goal) each contributed in the Falcons' 11-7 win over the Knights at Falcon Stadium last year. Driggs leads the Falcons with 30 goals and is tied with Yago (19 goals, 19 assists) for the team lead with 38 points. Peene has tallied 14 goals and five assists.
 
Stopping half of the Knights' shots on goal last season (7 of 14) was now senior keeper Jake Marek.
 
"Jake Marek took over in the goal in the middle of last season and has been a stable, consistent presence for the Falcon defense since stepping in," Whitley said. "He is reliable and it allows Air Force to change defenses between zone and man and become a real challenge to score on."
 
Collectively on defense, the Falcons are tops in the ASUN in scoring defense (10.89 goals per game), turnovers (15.78 per game) and caused turnovers (8.78 per game).
 
Air Force is Bellarmine's all-time most-played opponent and owns a 15-4 advantage in the series. In 2023, the Knights' 11-10 win snapped a nine-game skid in the series.
 
"We have had several close battles with Air Force over the years and I would expect this one will be no different. Our guys are looking forward to the challenge as Air Force is definitely one of those teams that we use as a benchmark in conference play."
 
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