Bryant nipped by Mount, 10-9

BULLDOGS DROP FIRST LEAGUE OUTING, 10-9, TO MOUNT ST. MARY'S; STILL CONTROL DESTINY FOR NEC HOSTING RIGHTS

EMMITSBURG, Md. – Despite a 5-4 halftime lead, the Bryant University men's lacrosse team couldn't keep its winning streak alive on the road against Northeast Conference rival Mount St. Mary's Saturday afternoon, as the Mountaineers used a four-goal run in the third to take the lead en route to a 10-9 victory.

The win was the first league victory for the Mount (5-9, 1-3 NEC), who got a game-high four goals from senior Cody Lehrer. The Bulldogs (5-9, 3-1) saw junior midfielder Colin Dunster (Cos Cob, Conn.) earn his seventh hat trick of the season despite seeing their four-game win streak snapped. But the Black and Gold – who have already secured a spot in the upcoming NEC Tournament – still remain in the hunt for playoff hosting rights, a decision that will hinge on the outcome of next Saturday's regular-season finale between Bryant and Sacred Heart. Should the Bulldogs win, they would claim the top seed and serve as tournament host.

"It's a little uncomfortable to even think about the NEC playoff scenario right now, because we still have The Ocean State Cup and one of our archrivals in Brown to play on Tuesday," said head coach Mike Pressler. "All of our efforts will be focused on that game Tuesday night. But with that said, we are excited to have control of our own destiny entering the final week of the regular season."

Despite coming out of Saturday's intermission to score a man-up goal less than two minutes into the second half off the stick of Brian Schlansker (Glenville, N.Y.) for a 6-4 advantage, the Bulldogs quickly saw their momentum fade away, as Mount St. Mary's exploded for four-straight goals to dominate the remainder of the third, turning a two-goal deficit into a two-score cushion.

Just seconds after a 30-second penalty on Bryant rookie Collins Gantz (Denver, Colo.) expired, Mount St. Mary's midfielder Jake Willertz registered his lone marker of the afternoon to bring the hosts within one, 6-5, and Connor Carey would tie the game at 6-6 with 4:01 remaining. After scoring two first-half goals, Lehrer would complete his hat trick with less than three to play in the third to give the home team its first lead since the early minutes of the contest, and the fifth-year attack would strike again with 1:20 to go with a man-up goal for an 8-6 Mount advantage, the hosts' largest of the game.

"It's really disappointing that we never could stretch our lead to three goals," Pressler said. "We had multiple opportunities, especially in the beginning of the third quarter after Schlansker's man-up goal, and that four-goal run by the Mount turned out to be the deciding factor in the game.

"Credit goes to the Mount for ending a five-game losing streak and to their seniors, who enjoyed a remarkable Senior Day," he continued. "That is a great class of lacrosse players, and my hat's off to those seniors and to head coach Tom Gravante."

In the fourth, Bryant would close the gap to a single goal three times – off a Shane Morrell (Glen Mills, Pa.) tally with 12:44 to play (8-7), on Gantz's second score of the game with 6:38 remaining (9-8) and on Dunster's third of the day with 5.6 seconds left (10-9), but the Black and Gold never got back to even.

"What disappointed me about our team was that things we addressed, we did not do," Pressler said. "We didn't value to the ball enough, especially on the offensive end, and we barely shot over 50 percent on goal. That was a game we felt like we could get to the teens on offense, but I think our inability to shoot it on cage and convert some layup opportunities proved to be our downfall.

"To win on the road against a good team, we have to be cleaner and better than that."

But it was the Mount who was playing from behind for the majority of the first half, after Bulldog senior longstick midfielder Mason Poli (Downingtown, Pa.) got the visitors on the board first, taking a long pass from defenseman Matt MacGrotty (New Westminster, B.C.) back at the defensive restraining line and streaking downfield for a bullet of a shot that opened the game's scoring just 2:15 into the contest.

Lehrer got it back for the home side at the 9:04 mark, and gave the Mount a 2-1 edge less than two minutes later, getting credited for a goal that bounced in past Bryant goalie Gunnar Waldt (Freeland, Md.), despite the rookie coming up with a clean save off Lehrer's initial shot.

Dunster got his first marker of the day to re-knot the score from 20 yards out off a pass from senior teammate Peter McMahon (Wilton, Conn.) with 3:37 left in the first, and Gantz gave the visitors a 3-2 lead with six ticks to go in the frame on an unassisted shot he bounced past Mount netminder Adam Borgogelli (11 saves).

Bryant would complete its three-score run with the opening tally of the second, a McMahon goal assisted by Morrell, but Andrew Scalley would get two for the Mount in the final six minutes – split up by Dunster's second goal of the day – to send the teams into halftime just a goal apart, 5-4.

The Bulldogs' first league loss also marked the first time in 2013 the team has lost the ground ball margin (30-25) and just the second time this season Bryant has been held under 55 percent at the faceoff. Sophomore Kevin Massa (Huntington, N.Y.) went 12-for-23 at the X with nine ground balls.

Waldt made 12 saves between the pipes in facing 32 Mount St. Mary's shots. Bryant fired 37 shots in the contest and went 15-of-16 on the clear despite 14 turnovers.

With this game now behind them, the Bulldogs will need to rebound quickly, their next matchup coming in just three days' time when Ocean State rival Brown comes to the Bryant Turf Complex Tuesday at 7 p.m.

"For our team and our senior class, there couldn't be a more exciting week to finish out the regular season," said Pressler. "First, we have our local Rhode Island rival in Brown University at home – we obviously know what a battle that is going to be – and then, on a short week, we get to play Sacred Heart for the opportunity to win the regular season and host the NEC Tournament."