GREENVILLE, Pa. – The Bellarmine lacrosse team will look to bounce back this weekend following a season-opening loss at No. 11 Duke. The Knights first visit Mercyhurst on Saturday before heading to Columbus to face former ECAC foe No. 10 Ohio State on Tuesday.
 
Opening faceoff on Saturday is set for 1 p.m. at the Rissell-Schreyer Dome on the campus of Thiel College. The game was moved from Mercyhurst's campus due to single-digit temperatures in Erie's Saturday forecast.
 
Tuesday's game at Ohio State is set to occur as scheduled with a 3 p.m. ET start at Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium.
 
Mercyhurst (0-1) on opening weekend suffered a 24-2 loss at the hands of Ohio State's rival, No. 20 Michigan. The Lakers will technically be playing in their first "home" game of their second season since transitioning to Division I. MU went 2-11, 1-6 in the NEC during their first campaign at the top collegiate level.
 
"This will be a battle on Saturday as we head back on the road," said Bellarmine head coach Andrew Whitley. "Mercyhurst has evolved a bit from last year to this year. They were very experienced at the attack position last year and leaned heavily on those veteran players. In the early stages of 2026, they have appeared to be more midfield focused and that tracks, considering the veteran nature of that group. Ryan Mahoney, Chase Petschke and Darrin Santos will lead the charge on offense and all have the ability to win a matchup and create offense."
 
Mahoney was an All-NEC performer last year as a junior, registering 22 goals and 13 assists, while Petschke tallied 14 and 6. Santos scored one of the Lakers' two goals against Michigan in their opener.
 
"Brenton Paladino leads the charge defensively and Tyler Moritzen is very experienced and very reliable on the cage," Whitley said. "They are the cornerstone of a vastly improved defense from a year ago and we're going to have to continue to play disciplined offense to be successful."
 
Paladino supplied 29 ground balls and 24 caused turnovers last year to earn a spot next to Mahoney on the All-NEC team. Moritzen posted a .483 save percentage in 12 starts last season, averaging 13.5 saves.
 
"Both teams are looking to bounce back from their opening contest so I would expect a very spirited contest," Whitley concluded about Saturday's matchup.
 
Bellarmine is 2-0 all-time against Mercyhurst. Last year at Frazier Stadium, the Knights handled the Lakers in their first game as a Division I team 21-11 behind a 5-goal, 2-assist performance by John Alie. Nolan Hudnut made 8 saves and earned his first career win. The teams' only meeting before 2025 was in BU's first year as a program, 2005. Bellarmine won 13-12 in overtime in Erie.

Ohio State (1-0) took care of Detroit Mercy 19-3 on Sunday and will host Cleveland State Saturday before Bellarmine visits Tuesday.
 
"The Buckeyes are coming off of a tremendous 2025 campaign and look poised to be similarly competitive in 2026 despite the fact that they will look different, but no less talented," said Whitley.
 
OSU last year went 14-3, 4-1 in the Big Ten. They won the Big Ten Tournament, defeating future national runners-up Maryland 14-10, before falling to Notre Dame 15-6 as the 4-seed in the 18-team NCAA tournament field.
 
"Defensively, Ohio State is as good as anyone in the country at that end of the field," Whitley said. "Cullen Brown will lead the way and is an excellent cover guy. More will be asked of him with the recent loss of Bobby Van Buren to injury, but he is very capable of winning matchups versus top-end attackmen."
 
A senior, Brown last year was named Second Team All-Big Ten and earned All-American Honorable Mention from USA Lacrosse and the USILA after setting an OSU record with 34 caused turnovers and leading non-faceoff specialist Buckeyes with 60 ground balls.
 
"Our attack will definitely be challenged on Tuesday," Whitley continued. "Caleb Fyock returns in-goal and is as good a stopper as there is in college lacrosse and seems to be even better than a year ago."
 
Currently listed at 6-foot-2 and 275 pounds, Fyock last year stopped a nation's-best 61.2 percent of opposing shots on goal en route to winning the Ensign C. Markland Kelly Jr. Award for the nation's best goalkeeper. The now junior was, additionally, named a First Team All-American, First Team Big Ten and the Big Ten Specialist of the Year.
 
Helping the Buckeyes move the ball into the offensive end is senior Blake Eiland, who, like Brown, earned All-American Honorable Mention from the USILA.
 
"Blake Eiland will provide a lot of support in the midfield and is very impactful in the clearing game while being as good a SSDM as there is in the Big Ten," Whitley said.
 
"Alex Marnier, Garrett Haas and Liam White return to lead a very disciplined and very dynamic offense," Whitley continued. "The addition of Russell Melendez provides a dynamic spark at attack that could carry the Buckeyes to the next level."
 
The quartet accounted for 12 goals and 3 assists in the Buckeyes' win over Detroit Mercy.
 
Bellarmine is 1-12 all-time against OSU, the lone win a 14-13 overtime victory to conclude the 2010 season in Columbus. This will be the third straight season the programs have met, with the Buckeyes winning 16-4 last year and 10-6 in 2024.
 
"This is a great opportunity for our guys to step up in competition and really extend ourselves," Whitley concluded. "We were able to compete with OSU well into the second half last year. We learned a bunch of lessons from Duke and expect to learn more against Mercyhurst while we continue to develop and progress. Any time you get to measure yourself against the top teams, it is an exciting time and our kids are looking forward to the challenge."
 
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