#19 Bryant falls in NCAA Quarterfinals, 16-8, to #6 Maryland

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – After a historic 2014 season that saw the No. 19/16 Bryant University men's lacrosse team earn a pair of NCAA tournament wins, the Bulldogs' run would come to an end Saturday afternoon, as seventh-seeded and sixth-ranked Maryland topped the Black and Gold, 16-8, at James M. Shuart Stadium in the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals.

Senior midfielder Colin Dunster (Cos Cob, Conn.) found the back of the net four times and registered five points to lead the Bulldogs (16-5), who also saw two goals from sophomore attack Shane Morrell (Glen Mills, Pa.) in the quarterfinal matchup. Bryant also saw scores from senior attack Dan Sipperly (Greenwich, N.Y.) and rookie linemate Tucker James (Essex Fells, N.J.).

A record crowd of 13,519 was on hand as Maryland (13-3) jumped out a 7-2 advantage after the first 15 minutes, and the Terps were paced by leading scorer Mike Chanenchuk's game-best nine points on the day. Chanenchuk picked up five goals and four helpers, while three more Terps in Jay Carlson, Joe LoCascio and Connor Cannizzaro added hat tricks in the winning effort. Niko Amato made six stops while Charlie Raffa's 14-for-20 mark from the faceoff jumpstarted the Maryland offense.

"We were in a battle to the end, but at the end of the day, you dig yourself a five-goal hole against a team like that and it makes it very, very difficult to come all the way back, especially when they are dominating the faceoff X," said Bryant head coach Mike Pressler. "It's tough to make a run against a team like that when you aren't winning faceoffs, and that's new territory for us."

Maryland controlled the first quarter, letting up just a trio of offensive possessions to the Black and Gold thanks in great part to a 9-for-10 mark from Raffa at the faceoff X. The Terps found success up high against Bulldog goalie Gunnar Waldt (Freeland, Md.) (7 saves) and got the scoring started less than 90 seconds into the contest.

Chanenchuk opened what would eventually be a four-goal start for the Terps in unassisted fashion, and a Henry West tally from 10 yards out gave Maryland a 2-0 lead less than a minute later. A Carlson one-timer made it 3-0, and LoCascio netted his first of three first-half goals with 10:46 on the clock for the 4-0 early advantage less than five minutes into the game.

But James made the Bulldogs' first offensive possession of the day count with 9:24 to go in the opener, swinging across the field around the defense and curling in to rocket a shot into the Maryland net for the first Black and Gold marker of the afternoon.

Maryland would respond with three more scores entering the quarter's final five minutes for a 7-1 lead without allowing another Bryant offensive possession. With 3:52 to go, though, a tripping call on Terp rookie Matt Rambo would send the Bulldogs up a man, and the underdogs would capitalize on the opportunity, as Sipperly dropped in a Dunster pass from the doorstep to cut the score to 7-2 entering the second quarter.

"What happened in the first quarter, we've done that to so many teams over the last couple years, and this time, Maryland did it to us," said Pressler. "They won the game down the middle. In the first quarter, we never had the ball, so give them credit."

The Bulldogs would calm down in the second frame despite Maryland getting the first two goals of the stanza to go up, 9-2. Waldt would settle in between the pipes after that, and a point blank save on a Carlson shot would send Bryant the other way.

The Bulldogs would capitalize in transition as they have all season, with Waldt springing senior captain and defensive midfielder JK Poirier (Coatesville, Pa.) on the clear to connect with a waiting Morrell on the attack. Morrell's shot would find its target to complete the transition tally for a 9-3 margin with 8:20 to go before the break.

And with 4:01 to go, Dunster would get on the board himself, driving down the middle toward the cage through heavy traffic, beating Amato to cut the deficit to 9-4, a score than would stick through the intermission.

Morrell and Dunster would each find the goal again in the third, but Maryland broke through five times to up its lead to 14-6 entering the final 15 minutes despite a more successful frame from Massa at the faceoff X.

Cannizzaro and Chanenchuk get would net the first two scores of the third before Morrell leaned in hard against his defender, firing a laser past Amato with 6:46 to go in the quarter. The Terps got back on the board on an extra-man opportunity with five left to play and took a 13-5 advantage less than two minutes later on Carlson's third of the day.

Dunster scored his second goal of the game as the clock ticked below the three-minute mark, but Cannizzaro topped off third-quarter scoring with 43 seconds to play to send the Bulldogs into the fourth with a 14-6 deficit.

"Colin was the best midfielder on the field for either team in my opinion," said Pressler. "He tried to put us on his back a little bit when we were struggling on offense, and he made some big plays. Against that defense, that was just an incredible performance by No. 16."

Dunster added two more to start out the fourth and cut the score to 14-8, but Maryland would keep the pressure on en route to the 16-8 final.

With the win, No. 6 Maryland advances to the NCAA Semifinals May 24 in Baltimore, Md., to take on the winner of Saturday's second semifinal matchup between Notre Dame and Albany. The Bulldogs wrap up their historic 2014 campaign with a 16-5 overall record, having set a new program wins mark and leading the NCAA ranks in overall victories.

"In all my years of coaching, I can't remember a team that fulfilled every team goal set back in the fall," Pressler said. "Our goals were to win the NEC Tournament and to get back to the NCAA tournament and go beyond – and we went beyond twice. We took the next step to moving this program to the next level.

"I am just so proud of our body of work – 16 wins, NEC Tournament Champions, the Syracuse win, the Siena win – just an incredible year for Bryant lacrosse."