April 27, 2010

BRYANT SHAKES OFF SLOW START FOR 7-5 WIN OVER DARTMOUTH AT HOME TUESDAY

Boxscore

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University men's lacrosse team allowed three goals in the first 20 minutes of the game but settled down in the middle of the second quarter, scoring four-straight tallies to take a lead it wouldn't relinquish, eventually beating out visiting Dartmouth, 7-5, at Bulldog Stadium Tuesday afternoon.

Sophomore Jameson Love (Darien, Conn.) rebounded after a shaky start to make 11 saves in net and hold the Big Green (5-7) to just a pair of goals in the final 40 minutes. In the offensive end, junior Matt Larson (Cheshire, Conn.) scored twice while classmate Evan Roberts (West Cornwall, Vt.) notched his first points of the season off a goal and an assist, the former serving as the game winner for the Bulldogs (10-5).

But it was Dartmouth who started the game with all the momentum, and a Chris Constabile tally with 6:22 to play marked the lone score of the first frame. The Big Green would extend its advantage less than five minutes into the second session to open up a 3-1 lead on the home team.

Bryant saw the sixth goal of the season from rookie JK Poirier (Coatesville, Pa.) knot the score at 1-1 early in the second period, just 15 seconds before Casey Hingtgen started back-to-back Dartmouth tallies for the early 3-1 edge.

But after more than 10 minutes of scoreless play, the Bulldog offense kicked into gear, scoring goals just six seconds apart and with under 30 ticks to play before halftime to tie the game at 3-3 heading into the intermission.

An unassisted Gary Crowley (Scituate, Mass.) goal with 21 seconds to go came after a long Bryant possession to cut the deficit to one, and Roberts connected with frosh Peter McMahon (Wilton, Conn.) six ticks later after a big faceoff win to bring the score to a 3-3 draw. It was the first assist of the year for the junior midfielder.

“Those two plays at the end of the half were huge for us – it tied the game up and gave us great momentum going into the locker room,” said head coach Mike Pressler.

Out of the break, the Black and Gold quickly scored the go-ahead goal, thanks to the duo of Larson and sophomore leading scorer Max Weisenberg (Long Beach, N.Y.). With possession but no shot from the top of the box, Weisenberg spotted his linemate on the opposite side, passing it off for a one timer.

Larson made it back-to-back scores five minutes later, taking a Poirier feed and putting it home past the left shoulder of Dartmouth goalie Fergus Campbell for a 5-3 advantage.

“To come out in the third and seize control of the game was a key moment for us,” said Pressler. “We made some plays, but at the end of the day, that was another elite performance on defense for us today.

“The one negative for us the entire day was the number of 1-on-1 chances with the goalie our attacks had and didn't score,” he added. “We'll need to improve that to be successful at the Division I level.”

Kip Dooley would get the first of his two goals on the day at the three-minute mark of the third session, and while Roberts would respond just 13 seconds later with his first tally of the year to restore a two-goal lead for the home side, Dooley would score again within a minute of his first tally – a man-up goal with 2:28 on the clock.

Roberts' tally came off another of his seven faceoff wins on the day, as the junior picked up the ground ball and went straight to goal, shooting without hesitation for a temporary 6-4 Bulldog advantage.

“Evan was nursing a shoulder injury for awhile, and for him to come through and make a couple plays when we need them most was a huge lift,” said Pressler. “The credit goes to Evan – we said we needed other guys to step up and he's one of them, and he certainly did just that.”

And despite entering the final 15 minutes with just a one-goal edge, it was all Bryant would need, as sophomore Travis Harrington (Vestal, N.Y.) chipped in an insurance goal with 7:16 to go in regulation for the only tally of the fourth and final score of the contest.

Roberts was stellar from the faceoff X, going 7-for-10 to boost the Bulldogs to an 8-for-16 mark on the day. Senior defenseman Matt Murnane (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) also stood out from the backfield, causing a game-high six turnovers and picking up a team-best eight ground balls. Hingtgen led the contest with nine grounders on the day, while the Bulldogs as a team edged the Big Green in the category, 31-24.

“We moved Roberts to the faceoff X because Andrew [Hennessey] was certainly struggling due to his injury,” said Pressler. “And Roberts was huge for us. Then to hold Dartmouth to five goals – that credit goes to [defensive coordinator] Peter Toner and certainly to Jameson Love,” he added. “Jameson was on his game again today and so were the guys in front of him. We've been one of the top defensive teams in the nation all season and today was no exception.”

Campbell made 12 stops for the visitors and faced 38 Bulldog shots, including a game-high 12 in the second frame. Dartmouth fired 26 shots in the loss.

Bryant's 10-5 mark ties the team's overall record from a year ago, marking consecutive 10-win seasons for the Bulldogs, who are in just their second year of Division I action. Bryant has two more games on the 2010 season and plays its last road contest of the year Saturday against future Northeast Conference opponent Quinnipiac at 1 p.m.