LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Sophomore Lad Harper produced a record-setting day at the faceoff dot and the Bonnies offense put together another strong performance, but the St. Bonaventure men's lacrosse team could not get past Bellarmine as the host Knights took a 14-12 decision Tuesday afternoon.

Harper won 20 of 27 faceoff attempts, breaking the Bonaventure Division I single-game record of 19 held for the last three years since Quinn Nolan posted 19 faceoff wins in 2023 vs. VMI.

The second-year faceoff specialist's success helped set the tone for the Bonnies attack which was led by a pair of hat tricks from Jaxon Dillon and John Boomer who each found the back of the net three times apiece. Both players came through with their first collegiate hat trick.

Patrick Shanahan scored the game's first goal just 93 seconds in, but the Knights scored five of the game's next six tallies for a quick 5-2 lead.

From there, the teams exchanged runs and took a 7-7 tie to intermission.

Bellarmine (4-3) seized momentum out of the break with a 4-0 run over the opening eight minutes of the second stanza, but the Bonnies soon answered.

Down 12-7 after a goal from Ezra Moore with 5:59 left in the penultimate quarter, the Bonnies responded with a 4-0 run of their own as Boomer capped his hat trick to end the Bellarmine run before Dillon, Jonas Johnson and Blake Maracle scored in a two-minute span to close the Bonnies within 12-11 heading for the final quarter.

The one-goal difference remained until the Knights found breathing room as Ty Washington scored with 10:35 to play and John Allie pushed the lead for the hosts to three at the 6:42 mark of the fourth. Bona's offense would not break through again until Dillon's third goal of the day with 1:32 left, too late to mount another rally.

Jeremy Askin added a faceoff win to give the Bonnies 21 on the day, also a team single-game best, breaking the record of 20 set in a 2022 win over Hampton.

St. Bonaventure (2-2) also owned a 45-33 shot advantage, placing 27 shots on net to Bellarmine's 21. The Bellarmine ride did not cause Bona much trouble as the visitors were successful in 26 of 27 clear attempts, though 20 turnovers overall slowed SBU.

Moore and John Alie scored four goals each to lead Bellarmine while goalie Nolan Hudnet turned away 15 shots.

Johnson (1G-2A) and Cole Kucinski (1G-2A) recorded three points each for the Bonnies while Shanahan also netted two goals.

Defensively, Owen Tasse caused two turnovers and picked up three groundballs while Shanahan also finished with two caused turnovers.

QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH BRENDAN STORRIER
"Tough loss for us today. We are excited for Lad to break the school record for faceoff wins in a game.

"We had chances to take the lead after we went down a few times and fought back. In the end, we kept making the same mistakes on offense and defense that didn't allow us to take control of the game. We don't have time to feel sorry for ourselves; we need to bounce back quickly as we face a hungry Le Moyne team that is led by one of the best coaches in the country."

UP NEXT
St. Bonaventure returns home to the Marra Athletics Complex Saturday, hosting Le Moyne at 11 a.m. as the Dolphins visit SBU for the first time.

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