ST. BONAVENTURE (0-1) vs. BELLARMINE (0-4)
Tuesday, Feb. 22 – Noon
St. Bonaventure, N.Y. - Marra Athletics Complex

OPENING FACEOFF

• St. Bonaventure makes its 2022 debut on home turf by welcoming Bellarmine to the Marra Athletics Complex Tuesday afternoon. 
• Bona will be playing its first game in over a week following the cancellation of last Saturday's contest at Binghamton due to unplayable field conditions after a winter storm in the Southern Tier.
• The Bonnies will look to tally their first win against a non-conference opponent in program history after a heartbreaker at Saint Joseph's in the season-opener, 12-11.
• There will not be a webstream available for Tuesday's game. The remainder of the home schedule will be broadcast on ESPN+ beginning in March. 

SERIES HISTORY
Bellarmine leads, 1-0
Tuesday's game will be the second meeting between the Bonnies and the Knights. 

St. Bonaventure traveled to Louisville, Ky., to take on the Knights Feb. 15, 2020 when Bellarmine came away with a 13-5 victory. Bellarmine owned the first half, taking an 8-1 lead to intermission and never looked back.

It was a memorable day for several Bonnies, though, as multiple players tallied their first career collegiate points: Brett Beetow, Ben Garcia, Jake Emmick, Mark Belles and Brady Wijbrandts got into the scoring column for the first time with the team. Brett Dobson made 16 saves. 

COMING UP ROSES
Senior Jackson Rose had one of his best games in his collegiate career in the opening weekend, notching a hat trick in the first half before finishing with four total goals at Saint Joseph's. All four of his shot attempts found the back of the net.

Rose tied his career-high for goals in a game, matching a contest during his freshman year at Manhattan, and also tied multiple players for the second-most goals in a game by a Bonnies player.

Last year, Rose scored four goals for the entire season, all coming on the power play.

STRONG START FOR ROSA
Much of Bonaventure's offensive attack in the opener ran through Rose and preseason MAAC Player of the Year Jake Rosa. The junior finished with two goals and an assist, leading the Bonnies with seven total shots.

LOOKING FOR HISTORY
Last week, the Bonnies came oh-so-close to making a bit of program history: St. Bonaventure is still seeking its first-ever non-conference win. The Bonnies certainly experienced the growing pains of a new program during their first two seasons, going 0-19 before the pandemic shutdown stopped the 2020 season just six games in. Last year, the Bonnies finished 5-5, but that was as part of a conference-only schedule implemented by the MAAC due to the pandemic.

IN THE SCOREBOOK
One reason for the optimism around the Bonnies program this spring is the added depth the team hopes to have thanks to a talented recruiting class.

One of the top new freshmen is Anthony Cimino who logged his first collegiate points at Saint Joseph's, finishing with a pair of assists.

VETERAN LEADERSHIP
Just three years ago, the Bonnies were the youngest team in the country with 34 freshmen, the third-most in Division I history.

This year, the script is flipped as the Bonnies have 21 seniors. Only Rutgers (28) has more seniors on the roster at the Division I level.

ABOUT BELLARMINE

• Bellarmine ended the 2021 season with a 5-10 overall record and a conference record of 2-4 as members of the SoCon.
• The Knights have begun the 2022 season with an 0-4 start, losing a couple of heartbreakers in the early going. After road losses at Mercer (9-4) and Michigan (22-13) to begin the year, Bellarmine took Marquette to triple overtime before falling, 9-8. This will be Bellarmine's second straight game against a MAAC opponent: Canisius won in Louisville, 13-11, last Saturday. 
• Bellarmine was selected to finish fourth in the 2022 ASUN Men's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches Poll, earning 17 total points. This is Bellarmine's first season in the ASUN, joining Air Force, Utah, Cleveland State, Detroit Mercy and Robert Morris.
• Graduate defenseman Jon Robbins was named unanimous ASUN Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, while junior goalkeeper JC Higginbotham was a unanimous selection to the Preseason All-Conference Team as well. Junior midfielder Benny O'Rourk was also named to the league's preseason team.
• This season freshman midfielder Justin Wescoat leads the team with six goals and is tied with the team lead in points (seven) with O'Rourk, who paces the team with four assists.
• In net Higginbotham has recorded 43 saves on the year.

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