LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Bellarmine lacrosse team is set to take on Cleveland State in its 2026 home opener this Saturday. Opening faceoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. ET at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium. The Knights then head to northern Indiana for their second straight Tuesday visit to a top-10 team, this time facing No. 6 Notre Dame.
 
"Our home opener is always an exciting time and our guys are looking forward to playing in front of the home crowd for the first time," said Knights head coach Andrew Whitley.
 
Bellarmine (1-2) will look to bounce back from a valiant effort that came up short in the form of an 11-6 loss this past Tuesday at Ohio State.
 
About Cleveland State
Cleveland State (0-2) has faced a pair of challenging opponents on the road to start their season, falling at Denver 20-1 and at Ohio State 17-7. Still, the Vikings may bring a certain level of confidence to Frazier Stadium as they have been victorious in the past two matchups with the Knights.
 
"Cleveland State has become a bit of a rivalry game over the past few years," Whitley said. "They've gotten the best of us the last couple of times we've played and I know our guys are motivated to rebound from a disappointing performance last season."
 
In the Krenzler Bubble last year, CSU earned a 16-10 victory despite 8 points and a program-record-matching 6 goals from John Alie. The Vikings got a noteworthy individual performance, as well, in the form of a program-record 8 goals by Xander Johnson. The teams split a pair of games in 2024, with CSU advancing in the ASUN tournament with a 15-12 quarterfinal win in Colorado Springs to avenge a 14-9 loss less than three weeks prior at Frazier Stadium. CSU departed the ASUN for the NEC following the 2024 campaign.
 
"Brennan Hickey has led the offense thus far," Whitley said. "Last season, Xander Johnson had a great shooting day and we are preparing for him to be available Saturday."
 
Johnson, a redshirt junior, has yet to appear this season while Hickey leads the team with 3 goals on 7 shots (.429).
 
On the other side of the field, Whitley identifies the Vikings' senior keeper as a key performer this weekend.
 
"Their goalie, Justin Dalum, played very well against us last year and we need to shoot the ball effectively on Saturday," he said.
 
Dalum against Denver allowed 13 goals in 30 minutes, making just 4 saves, but made 13 stops against the Buckeyes in 54 minutes. He stopped 12 of 22 Knights shots on frame last season (.545).
 
"There is a newness about the Vikings this year, but they showed very well against Ohio State last week and we can expect another big rivalry battle," Whitley concluded about CSU.
 
The game will break a 5-5 tie in the all-time series between the teams, dating back to 2018.
 
About Notre Dame
Notre Dame (0-0) opens their season Saturday at Marquette before hosting the Knights in their home opener at 3 p.m. ET on Tuesday at Arlotta Family Lacrosse Stadium.
 
"Notre Dame is as good a team as there is in college lacrosse and might be the most challenging team we play all season," Whitley said. "Defensively they continue to be at the top of college lacrosse and are led by Shawn Lyght and Will Donovan plus Thomas Ricciardelli in the goal. Our attack will definitely be challenged, but they have elevated their game with each passing opponent and I expect Tuesday to be no different."
 
Lyght last year shared the highest honor for a collegiate defender, the William C. Schmeisser Co-Defensive Player of the Year award, with Ohio State's Bobby Van Buren. Donovan was named a First Team All-American by USA Lacrosse and a second teamer by Inside Lacrosse and the USILA after scooping 24 ground balls and causing 19 turnovers. Ricciardelli earned All-ACC and All-American Honorable Mention laurels after posting a .566 save percentage.
 
The Fighting Irish lost a lot of production on offense, including their top three goal scorers who combined for 47.6 percent of their scores a year ago. They do return graduate midfielder Will Angrick (15 goals, 12 assists) and senior attack Will Maheras (9 goals, 9 assists) and have also added an attackman familiar to Knights fans.
 
"Offensively, Notre Dame will be a little bit less experienced, but no less talented, as they were in 2025. We are extremely familiar with Josh Yago from his Air Force days and I expect him to quarterback a very talented group of offensive players this year."
 
Yago supplied 4 goals and 3 assists for the Falcons last year in an 18-6 win over the Knights.
 
"This is another opportunity to test ourselves against one of the bluebloods in college lacrosse," Whitley concluded. "Our kids continue to be excited by the opportunity and are continuing to learn and grow from these games. We are no longer happy just competing with these programs. Our guys truly see a path to win these games and that makes for an exciting opportunity."
 
Bellarmine is 0-6 all time against Notre Dame. This will be the teams' first meeting since a 12-6 Irish win on March 6, 2021 at Arlotta Stadium.
 
Knights Knotes

• John Alie (109 goals) is four goals away from tying Kyle Playsted (113 goals) for Bellarmine's all-time goals record. He will look to bounce back from a 0-point performance at Ohio State, his first such game since the Knights' loss to CSU in the 2024 ASUN tournament.
• Attack Joe Alie is tied with his older brother, John, for the Bellarmine team lead with 7 goals.
• Ezra Moore scored 1 goal Tuesday and is tied with John Alie for the team lead with 12 points. The sophomore dished out 5 assists against Duke, tying a program record now done 4 times.
• Nolan Hudnut posted a season-high 16 saves at Ohio State. He has 44 saves through 3 games (14.7 saves per game) after making a Bellarmine-record 212 in his debut campaign, 5th in Division I. He has recorded 10-plus saves in all 3 games this season and 17 of 20 in his career. Against Ohio State, he passed Jordan Dondoyano (2017-19) for 5th on the program's all-time saves list with 256.
• Bellarmine's 2026 senior class has helped author 29 wins and has a chance to become the program's all-time winningest class with four more wins. The 2025 senior class is currently the winningest class in Bellarmine history with 32 victories. They passed the 2008 class, the program's first 4-year class, who won 30.

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