Saturday, February 28, 2009
BULLDOGS TAKE HOME OPENER, 20-2, OVER WAGNER, WIN
THIRD-STRAIGHT CONTEST SATURDAY AFTERNOON
Boxscore / Photo
Gallery
SMITHFIELD, R.I. - Hat tricks from senior attackmen
Kevin Hoagland (Glastonbury, Conn.) and
Matt McKeefrey (Melville, N.Y.) paced the Bryant
University men's lacrosse team to a 20-2 win over Wagner College
Saturday afternoon in the Bulldogs' home opener at the Bryant Turf
Complex.
Hoagland added two assists for a game-high five points while a
quartet of other Bulldogs chipped in a trio of points.
The scoring got started just 56 seconds into Saturday's contest,
when sophomore Matt Larson (Cheshire, Conn.)
logged his second goal of the season and first of the game,
unassisted.
Senior mid Jim Long (Durham, N.H.) upped the
score to 2-0 off an unassisted tally of his own with 6:11 still to
play in the opening 15 minutes.
Senior captain and Duke transfer Zack Greer (Whitby,
Ont.) kept his 38-game points scored streak alive on the
third of Bryant's 11 unanswered goals that opened the game when he
picked up a loose ball out of a scrum in front of the cage,
depositing the ball in the net for his first of back-to-back goals
on the afternoon.
Hoagland scored a natural hat trick - three consecutive goals -
to bridge the first and second frames, scoring first with under a
minute to go in the first period on a man-down goal from sophomore
Robert Stufano (Garden City, N.Y.) before netting
two more in the third minute of the second session to run the score
to 7-0.
Hoagland's pair to open the second period were two of three
Bryant goals scored within a 30-second span, the final coming with
13:05 on the clock off the shot of senior captain Bryan
Kaufmann (Putnam Valley, N.Y.). Kaufmann would also score
back-to-back goals, the second coming off a pass from
Andrew Hennessey (Wading River, N.Y.) after a big
faceoff win, to move the advantage to 9-0 in Bryant's favor.
The Bulldogs (3-1) got goals from Gary Crowley
(Scituate, Mass.) and Max Weisenberg (Long Beach,
N.Y.) before Wagner (0-3) answered Larson's second goal of
the afternoon with a man-up score from Brian Poissant with 1:16
left in the first half to make the score 12-1.
But Bryant would net one more, this time from freshman
Travis Harrington (Vestal, N.Y.) before closing
the half up, 13-1.
After the halftime break, the Bulldogs quickly added another
from McKeefrey - his first of three in the second half and first on
the year - assisted by Long with 13:38 showing in the third
session.
Weisenberg, McKeefrey and senior Alex Pfau (Bel Air,
Md.) would also pepper in goals before the period expired,
and the Seahawks wouldn't score again until the fourth opened up
with Jeff Policicchio sneaking one past Bryant goalie Brad
Burkhardt (Branford, Conn.), who relieved starter
Jameson Love (Darien, Conn.) to start the final
frame, making the score read 17-2.
Harrington and McKeefrey would each add another unassisted tally
before sophomore John Truscello (Holbrook, N.Y.)
capped off the scoring with the game's final goal at the 3:43 mark
for the 20-2 final.
Love finished with four saves and the win to move to 3-1 on the
season, while sophomore Andrew Clingenpeel (Norwalk,
Conn.) also saw his first minutes of the year between the
pipes. A number of other reserves also received time on the field
for their first minutes of the season.
Bryant, led by Hennessey, was again strong from the faceoff,
winning 18-of-25. Hennessey won 14-of-18 on the afternoon to get
the Bulldogs significant time of possession.
The Bulldogs outshot the Seahawks, 41-18, and collected 47
ground balls, paced by nine from Hennessey and four each from
Joe Rauchut (Philadelphia, Pa.) and
Harrison Tull (Annapolis, Md.). Wagner goalie
Peter Rubin turned away 11 shots.
The Bulldogs hit the road for the next four contests,
challenging Army in West Point, N.Y. on Wednesday, March 4 (4 p.m.)
before embarking on a three-game spring break road trip that will
take Bryant to Maryland for games against Mount St. Mary's, Loyola
(Md.) and the University of Maryland.
