September 25, 2010

BULLDOGS EARN FIRST WIN OF SEASON, TOP COLGATE, 2-1, ON ROAD SATURDAY

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Sophomore Elise Driscoll (Harwich, Mass.) scored the first goal of her career in the 30th minute of Saturday's game against Colgate University, and it couldn't have come at a better time.

The score – which also went down as the game-winning tally – gave the Bryant University field hockey team a 2-1 lead that would hold until the final whistle, giving the Bulldogs their first win of the 2010 season.

But it was Colgate (3-7) who got the scoring started early in the first half, when Laura Denenga netted a 1-0 edge for the home team off a rebound at the 11:04 mark.

Senior Alex Guisti (Walpole, Mass.) would team up with classmate Elise Boissoneau (Ashburnham, Mass.) 23:55 into the contest to bring the score back to even, as Guisti passed the ball off to her teammate for a shot from the top of the circle that found space behind Colgate goalie Kirsten Lalli.

It wouldn't be long – just 5:29 – before Driscoll came off the bench to give the Bulldogs (1-8) their first lead of the game and just the team's second of the season, taking a pass from rookie Mallory Hancock (Skowhegan, Maine) inside the circle and firing it home for a 2-1 lead entering the halftime break.

The teams would play to a scoreless draw in the final frame, as Bryant junior goalie Jennifer Gullotti (Waltham, Mass.) made five second-half stops to maintain the one-goal advantage and preserve the first victory of the season for the Black and Gold.

The Bulldogs were outshot, 19-10, in the win, while Gullotti collected nine saves for the visitors. The points were the first of the season for Driscoll, Guisti and Hancock, while Bryant's first tally of the day marked the third of the year for Boissoneau.

The Bulldogs next return to action Oct. 2-3, when they travel to Philadelphia to take on La Salle University Saturday at 2 p.m. and Temple Sunday at 2 p.m. before returning to Smithfield, R.I. for their 2010 home opener Oct. 6 against Holy Cross (7 p.m.)