Tuesday, February 24, 2009
BULLDOGS WIN TWO IN A ROW, TOP
DARTMOUTH, 12-9, ON ROAD TUESDAY AFTERNOON
Boxscore
HANOVER, N.H. - Senior Zack Greer (Whitby,
Ont.) scored seven points, leading the Bryant University
men's lacrosse team with five goals as the Bulldogs earned their
second-consecutive win, 12-9, over Dartmouth College Tuesday night.
Greer's five tallies led six different Bryant scorers on the
day, with senior Bryan Kaufmann (Putnam Valley,
N.Y.) and sophomore John Truscello (Holbrook,
N.Y.) also recording multi-goal outings, netting two
apiece.
"I told the guys before we left, if we can go up there and get
this one, I would be impressed," said head coach Mike Pressler.
"And I certainly was impressed that we had the goods to get it
done. I don't think we necessarily played great today, but we
played awful hard."
The Bulldogs (2-1) set the tone offensively in the beginning of
the first quarter, keeping the ball in their offensive third for
the better part of the opening period. Greer opened up the scoring
1:20 into the game, hooking up with sophomore Gary Crowley
(Scituate, Mass.) to give Bryant the 1-0 edge with a
far-post goal.
Truscello netted an unassisted goal - his first of the season -
from the same spot on the right side less than a minute later for a
two-goal edge before Dartmouth's Brian Koch ended a 10-minute
scoring drought with his first of five unassisted goals with 2:49
to play in the quarter.
As the clock ticked down to 39 seconds, Kaufmann connected with
Greer from behind the cage - the pair hooked up on three occasions
Tuesday - to notch his second tally off a low shot and drive the
score to 3-1 in Bryant's favor entering the first break.
Dartmouth (1-1) narrowed the gap to 3-2 early in the second and
knotted the score at 3-3 with 11:22 to play in the half, both goals
coming from Jimmy Mullen. But that was the last time the Big Green
would even it up, as Bryant netted the next four goals bridging
into the beginning of the third frame.
Koch brought a 7-3 Dartmouth deficit back to 7-4 with a goal
2:54 into the third quarter, but Greer gave the Bulldogs a
five-point edge, 9-4, with back-to-back goals - the first coming
from sophomore Anthony Iannello (Lake Ronkonkoma,
N.Y.) off a failed Dartmouth clear and the second coming
from senior Jim Long (Durham, N.H.).
"Zack Greer was terrific again," Pressler said. "We got him the
ball in his spot in key situations, and the way he score his five
goals - Zack always scored just when Dartmouth seemed to be coming
back."
Truscello made it 10-4 in the visitors' favor with his second
tally of the afternoon with 24.6 seconds left in the third period
off a pass from freshman Max Weisenberg (Long Beach,
N.Y.). Weisenberg notched his first career goal,
unassisted, with 2:28 to play in the first half.
But despite the six-goal gap, the Big Green challenged in the
final frame, cutting Bryant's lead to just three, 10-7, on
back-to-back-to-back tallies through the 8:50 mark of the fourth.
But the surge wouldn't be enough as the teams traded goals till
the end of the half - Bryant getting its pair from Kaufmann and
Crowley - until the buzzer sounded for a 12-9 Bryant victory.
Truscello, Weisenberg and frosh Travis Harrington
(Vestal, N.Y.) all netted their first goals of the season
in the win, while Crowley, Long and Robert Stufano (Garden
City, N.Y.) recorded their first helpers on the year.
"That was great to see," said Pressler. "John Truscello's play
was terrific today, and we've been seeing that from him since Day
One. Travis Harrington's first goal as a Bulldog was a key tally
for us on extra man to seize the momentum back after halftime, and
Max has been stalwart on the second line all year. He's going to be
a big time midfielder in time.
"They've been terrific all year," continued Pressler, "and it's
great to see them contribute when we needed them most."
Stellar performances from rookie goalie Jameson Love
(Darien, Conn.) and faceoff specialist Andrew
Hennessey (Wading River, N.Y.) also helped lead the
Bulldogs again, as Love turned away six shots and Hennessey went
17-of-24 on faceoff opportunities.
"I felt early on we had some great chances to really get off to
a great start," Pressler said. "But to Dartmouth's credit, they
hung tough and it was a battle from then on. But we beat a good
team today, on the road, in the cold and with not a lot of legs. We
caught Dartmouth at a good time. Once they get some of their key
guys back from injury, they'll certainly be team to be reckoned
with."
Both teams went 1-for-6 in man-up situations, staying fairly
even on shots, 29-28 in Bryant's favor.
"This was a difficult task and we knew that going in," Pressler
said. "To go on road again 48 hours after playing Sacred Heart on
the road, and to play certainly a difficult opponent in Dartmouth
College - for us to be 2-1 in this young season certainly is very
exciting and very impressive for our Bryant team."
The Bulldogs next take the field in their home opener on
Saturday, Feb. 28 when they host Wagner College at 1 p.m.
