ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – The St. Bonaventure men's lacrosse program has unveiled an impressive 2023 schedule including the Bonnies' entry into the Atlantic 10 Conference.

As part of the slate, the Bonnies are set to host five games at the Marra Athletics Complex while scheduling several high-profile contests during non-conference action.

The 2023 campaign is set to begin Saturday, Feb. 11 as the Bonnies travel to the Bluegrass State to continue what has become a regular series vs. Bellarmine. Last year, Bona's triumphed over the Knights, members of the A-SUN, 13-12, on home turf to avenge a loss during the 2020 season at Bellarmine.

The home opener is scheduled for the following weekend when Binghamton visits Feb. 18. It will be the first meeting between the Bonnies and Bearcats as last year's scheduled bout in Binghamton was canceled due to inclement weather. Last season, Binghamton finished 3-3 in the America East.

St. Bonaventure will also play host to VMI (Feb. 25) and Cleveland State (March 11) before conference play begins. The Bonnies won the first-ever meeting with VMI in the program's only overtime game to this point, 9-8, in Virginia last spring. VMI moves to the MAAC for the 2023 season. St. Bonaventure swept a unique home-and-home series with A-SUN member Cleveland State last year with a 12-5 win at home before holding on for an 11-10 triumph over the Vikings on the road.

The Bonnies will challenge themselves with several tough road games before A-10 competition gets underway.

Road trips include traveling to Robert Morris (Feb. 21) to face last year's A-SUN champs who finished 10-6 overall en route to the NCAA Tournament. Bona's will also travel to Maryland to play at UMBC (March 1) against a Retrievers squad that reached the America East Championship Game in 2022.

The non-conference schedule wraps with three very intriguing road matchups.

First up comes Little Three rival Canisius (March 14) in what will be a non-conference battle for the first time. SBU held off the Griffs at home to clinch the MAAC regular season title last April, 13-12, to even the series at 2-2 since the Bonnies joined the Division I level in 2019. The Bonnies have not won in Buffalo, though, since the rebirth of the program.

St. Bonaventure will then make its first trip to the Carrier Dome to play one of the nation's top programs in Syracuse. The Orange seek a bounce-back campaign in 2023, but always remain a threat in the ever-competitive ACC.

Finally, Bona's treks to Wisconsin to close non-conference competition at Big East foe Marquette on March 25.

That all sets up an anticipated beginning to the inaugural Atlantic 10 men's lacrosse season.

The Bonnies complete a grueling four-game road trip with their first-ever A-10 game at Hobart on April 1. Hobart finished last season 7-6 overall and reached the Northeast Conference Championship Game before falling to fellow new A-10 member Saint Joseph's. Hobart went 5-1 on home turf last spring as well and has reached the NCAA Tournament five times as a Division I program.

Bona will finally return home to make another bit of history with the first home A-10 competition when Saint Joseph's visits. The Hawks and Bonnies met twice as non-conference foes with Saint Joe's taking both games, including a heartbreaker last year when SJU rallied in the final seconds for a 12-11 win in Philadelphia.

Another road date follows at UMass April 15. The Minutemen finished last season 8-6 overall and earned a spot in the Colonial Athletic Association semifinals before transitioning to the A-10.

The Bonnies will also host new A-10 affiliate member High Point April 22. The Panthers, who hosted the Bonnies for Bona's first-ever D-I game back in 2019, reached the SoCon semifinals last year before an 12-11 loss to new conference foe Richmond.

St. Bonaventure closes the regular season at Richmond April 29. The Spiders were a Top 20 team last year and reached the NCAA Tournament as SoCon champions.

The first Atlantic 10 Championship Tournament is slated for May 4-6 in Richmond.

The new conference could immediately become one of the best in the nation. Each of Bona's five A-10 conference mates has been ranked in the national Top 20 within the past three years while the Bonnies earned Top 20 votes themselves for the first time last spring.

Bona has improved in each of its four seasons at the Division I level, including coming one step shy of the NCAA Tournament last spring. The Bonnies finished 11-4 last season and are 16-9 in the past two years, reaching the MAAC final four in each of their last two seasons in the conference.

SBU returns six all-conference performers from last year – 2022 First Team pick and 2021 MAAC Offensive Player of the Year Jake Rosa and recent National Lacrosse League draft picks in First Team All-Conference honoree Zack Belter, who was selected in the first round by Buffalo, and 2022 MAAC Co-Offensive Player of the Year Sean Westley, a second round pick by Las Vegas. Also returning is three-time All-MAAC selection and NLL Draft pick Austin Blumbergs as well as MAAC All-Rookie Team honorees Anthony Cimino and Conor Murphy. In all, 33 players with collegiate experience return for the Bonnies this fall under the leadership of head coach Randy Mearns and associate head coach Gill Conners as well as assistant coach Nico Capron.

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