SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Four different freshmen did nearly all the scoring for the Bryant University women's lacrosse team, including hat tricks from rookies Katherine Keckeisen (Danbury, Conn.) and Haley Bloom (Hauppauge, N.Y.), but the Bulldogs couldn't maintain an early lead, falling to Siena College, 15-10, in the 2011 home opener Tuesday afternoon.

Freshmen Kimberley Sniffen (Redding, Conn.) and Lisa Vendel (Sandy Hook, Conn.) each added a goal as well, making eight of the Bulldogs' 10 goals tallies that came from rookie sticks. Junior Mary Green (Merrick, N.Y.) chipped in a pair to round out the Bryant (0-3) scoring. Siena's Michelle Andreo netted a game-high four goals to pace the visiting Saints (1-2), while Kelly Perry chipped in a hat trick of her own. Junior netminder Lauren Filippone (West Babylon, N.Y.) turned away 13 shots for Bryant, while her counterpart collected six saves for the win.

Despite a five-goal deficit at the halftime break, the Bulldogs would outscore the Saints, 5-1, over a stretch of 7:37 in the middle of the final frame to cut the visitors lead to just two, 12-10, with 9:53 to play.

The run gave the Black and Gold life, but the comeback would end there, as Siena rallied for three unanswered goals in the final 7:30 to close out the contest for the 15-10 win.

But it was the Bulldogs who held the early lead, going up 2-0 out of the gates on goals from Vendel and the first from Keckeisen. But Siena responded, rattling off five-consecutive tallies over the ensuing 11 minutes – three of them off free position shots – to overtake the home side for a 5-2 edge.

Bloom would get one back for Bryant thanks to a good feed from Antoinette Lombardi (Wallingford, Conn.), but the goal would be the lone interrupter of a nine-goal Siena run that saw the Saints take a 9-3 lead as the clock ticked under the two-minute mark of the opening half.

Bloom would score again – coming once again from Lombardi – with 24 seconds left to cut into the deficit, but the Bulldogs would still trail 9-4 at the intermission.

Out of the break, Sniffen netted her only tally of the game – the third assist of the afternoon from Lombardi – to make it 9-5, but back-to-back unassisted Siena scores pushed the visitors' lead back up to six, 11-5.

Bryant would start its big final push soon after, as Keckeisen and Green would each score a pair in the 5-1 stretch, and Bloom would score the final Bulldog goal of the game with less than 10 minutes to play for the 12-10 margin that would end up 15-10 at the final whistle.

Siena scored four free position goals to Bryant's one, and 12 of the total tallies in the game would go unassisted, including a stretch of nine-straight in the second half. The Saints outhustled the Bulldogs on the ground, winning the ground ball battle, 23-16, and Caitlin Mikel led the game with five. Bryant took over on draw controls, 14-12, with three apiece won by Keckeisen, Green and junior Lauren Sheridan (Bethpage, N.Y.). Vendel recorded two caused turnovers to lead the home team. On the day, the Bulldogs were outshot, 38-24.

Bryant returns to the field in warmer climates for its next two outings, traveling to sunny California for a Spring Break week that will have the team face off against Fresno State on Monday, March 7 (4 p.m. PST) and UC Davis on Friday, March 11 (3 p.m. PST). The Bulldogs won't play again at home until the start of Northeast Conference action on March 25.