MLax looks for third-straight win vs. Danes

ALBANY, N.Y. – The Bryant University men's lacrosse team looks for its first winning streak of the season as it travels to the University at Albany for a 1 p.m. Saturday tilt against the Great Danes at John Fallon Field.

Albany (0-5) enters the game in search of its first win of the 2012 season and hopes to spoil the Bulldogs' (3-2) quest for three-straight victories.

"I think the main thing, as I said to the players, is our ability to handle a bit of success," said head coach Mike Pressler. "We've been terrific all through the years at bouncing back from defeat, but now we've won a couple in a row. How mature are we in our ability to handle that?"

Despite five-straight losses, though, the Great Danes are far better than their record indicates, as the team has already faced off against a trio of nationally ranked opponents in Syracuse, Yale and UMass, as well as a Drexel side that has garnered national attention all season long. Albany is also coming off its best outing of the year despite a 13-10 home loss to Canisius a week ago.

"I have a lot of respect for Albany's head coach, Scott Marr, and Albany is an outstanding and very explosive team, especially offensively," said Pressler. "The Thompsons and No. 5, Joe Resetarits, are an absolute handful for any defensive team to match up against.

"When we get ready for any opponent, we seldom, if ever, look at their previous record," he continued. "We look at who they are and what they are, and therefore, we have a lot of respect for the University at Albany."

Joe Resetarits averages a hat trick a game and leads the Danes with 15 goals and 20 points in 2012. He is the only double-digit goal scorer for Saturday's hosts and is one of four double-figure point getters for Albany. A family of Thompson's make up the team's other top point getters, as brothers Lyle (12 points, team-leading seven assists) and Miles (11 points) each chip in five goals while cousin Ty (11 points) is second on the squad with eight tallies.

Lyle Thompson, a rookie, leads the squad with 17 ground balls and has also spent limited time at the faceoff, going 4-for-7 on the season, and Albany has sent eight different players to the X to take a restart. The Great Danes have mainly looked toward experienced seniors Matt Cushing (12-of-37) and Keith Olson (17-of-42), though, as the hosts have struggled in faceoff battles all season long (.366).

Albany's faceoff platoon will have to contend with Bryant rookie Kevin Massa (Huntington, N.Y.), who has performed at a .500 clip or better in each of his first five collegiate games and boasts a .592 faceoff winning percentage on the year. Massa also paces the Black and Gold with 34 ground balls.

"The fact that they use so many different faces at the X makes Kevin's preparation that much more difficult, because he has to focus on a handful of guys instead of just one or two," said Pressler. "So for a freshman in just his sixth collegiate game, he's had to put a lot more time in because they use so many guys."

John Carroll has manned the cage for the Danes in all but 4:37 of the 2012 campaign and has 42 stops and a .385 save percentage in nearly 300 minutes between the pipes. He sports a 13.61 goals against average with nine ground balls.

And after an incredible comeback a week ago, one that saw the Bulldogs overcome a 5-0 halftime deficit for a 7-6 win over Drexel, Bryant will be looking to get to the Albany cage early and often Saturday afternoon.

"We were without a doubt disappointed with our start last week," said Pressler. "Going down, 4-0, to Drexel in the first is certainly not the way we envisioned the game going, and I think Drexel had a lot to do with that. So without question, that is a point of emphasis for us going into the Albany game."

Sophomore Alex Zomerfeld (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) broke out for two goals and two assists in Bryant's last outing and has nine points of the season, while linemates Max Weisenberg (Long Beach, N.Y.) and Colin Dunster (Cos Cob, Conn.) join him among the team's top five scorers. Dunster is the Bulldogs' top scoring threat with 11 tallies and has 13 points on the year, tied with starting attacker Cody Isdaner (Gladwyne, Pa.) for second on the team. Junior captain Peter McMahon (Wilton, Conn.) paces the Black and Gold with 15 points, scoring six goals to compliment a team-best nine assists.

McMahon and his Albany counterpart will both put streaks on the line come Saturday, as the former currently ranks fifth among the nation's longest consecutive-game point getters, registering at least one point in each of his last 36 games. Resetarits ranks third in the same list, having left his mark on his last 39 games.

Defensively, the Bulldogs are anchored by four-year starting goalie Jameson Love (Darien, Conn.), who has been nothing short of terrific in his senior season, averaging nearly 15 saves per game with a .649 save percentage and a 7.83 goals against average, having played every second between the pipes. Love is second on the team with 21 ground balls and has a trio of caused turnovers on the year.

Saturday's contest marks the first-ever meeting between these two programs. The game can be watched live on the DaneZone at www.ualbanysports.com.