Photo courtesy of gobonnies.com
BY: AIDAN SHINNERS; STAFF WRITER
The first men’s lacrosse coach in St. Bonaventure history, Randy Mearns, has completed his first season as interim head coach for the National Lacrosse League’s Rochester Knighthawks.
Mearns coached the Bonnies for the first seven seasons in program history, leading the team to a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference final in 2022 before moving to the Atlantic 10. Mearns led the Bonnies to an all-time 24-62 record and managed to recruit multiple players who now play professionally to Bonaventure in his time as head coach, including two who he coached against in the Knighthawks final three games of the season.
The Knighthawks took on the Buffalo Bandits on April 11, and Mearns had the opportunity to take on not only his former team, but a familiar face in Zack Belter. Belter played defense for the Bonnies from 2019-2023, scoring six goals and causing 62 turnovers across 50 career games. Belter was drafted and signed to the Bandits following their 2023 NLL championship win, and went on to win the NLL championship back-to-back in 2024 and 2025, a three-peat for Buffalo. The Bandits went on to beat the Knighthawks 12-6 in that game; Belter caused one turnover.
The following weekend, Mearns was slated for a home-and-home against the Georgia Swarm, led by Brett Dobson. Mearns coached Dobson at Bonaventure from 2019-2022 to a career record of 15-20. In 2022, Dobson won the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year honor, posting a 10-3 record with a career-best 8.95 goals against average. On Apr. 18, Mearns’ Knighthawks traveled to Georgia and were defeated by Dobson’s Swarm 13-6. In that contest, Dobson saved 50 of 56 shots faced. The next night, the teams faced off again, this time in Rochester, but it was much of the same, as Georgia defeated Rochester 17-12. Dobson played the first 55 minutes, allowing eight goals while saving 47 shots. He was pulled for the final five minutes of the contest, where four more goals were added by Rochester.
The Knighthawks season came to an end with a 6-12 record, 1-6 under Mearns, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2022. His future with the Knighthawks is still uncertain.
St. Bonaventure’s connection to the NLL doesn’t end with the regular season. Belter’s Bandits and Dobson’s Swarm will meet in round one of the NLL playoffs on April 25 at 7:30 p.m.
