Bulldogs head to St. Louis over weekend

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Off to its best start since the 2002 season, the Bryant University field hockey team heads to St. Louis, Mo., over the weekend for matchups against St. Louis University on Friday and Missouri St. on Saturday (both at 2 p.m. EST).

After a season-opening loss to now nationally ranked Albany, the Bulldogs have rattled off four-straight wins, getting off to their best start in over a decade. The balanced Bryant attack, led by junior forward Rosie Bird (Hamilton, New Zealand) and senior midfielder Olivia Jankins (West Brookfield, Mass.), has outscored opponents, 14-10, during that stretch. Senior defender MaKayla Hancock (Skowhegan, Maine) and senior goalkeeper Megan Hancock (Skowhegan, Maine) have held down the defensive-third for the Black and Gold, with the help of a breakout season from sophomore defender Mikayla Fitzmaurice (Skowhegan, Maine).

On Friday, the Bulldogs will do battle with the Billikens, who enter the weekend in search of their first victory of the 2013 season. On Saturday, St. Louis put up its highest scoring output thus far, notching a pair of tallies in a 4-2 loss to Villanova.

One day later, the Bulldogs faceoff with fellow Show-Me State foe, Missouri St. The Bears enter Saturday's contest with a 1-5 record, coming off a 1-0 loss to Robert Morris on Saturday, Sept. 14. Missouri St.'s lone victory this season came over Pacific as the Bears just edged out the Tigers, 3-2. Hillary Lawless leads the Bears with four points on two goals, while Andrea Bain has logged nearly 350 minutes between the pipes.

Should the Bulldogs sweep their weekend opponents, they would tie the mark for the best record in program history through seven games (6-1, 2002) since the program's inception in 1999.

For links to live stats of weekend action and all the latest news on the Bryant University field hockey team, visit BryantBulldogs.com.