Bryant tops rival Providence College, 7-5, Tuesday in Ocean State Cup opener

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University men's lacrosse team got improved production from its top six on offense and saw junior goalie Gunnar Waldt (Freeland, Md.) tie his season best with 15 saves as the Bulldogs topped intrastate rival Providence College, 7-5, at home Tuesday in the opening game of the 2015 Ocean State Cup.

Sophomore attack Tucker James (Essex Fells, N.J.) and rookie linemate Cam Ziegler (Carlsbad, Calif.) each netted a pair to lead the Bulldogs (2-6), as the hosts snapped a four-game losing streak with Tuesday's victory. Senior faceoff specialist Kevin Massa (Huntington, N.Y.) also stood out in the win, going an impressive 13-of-16 from the faceoff X – including a perfect 6-for-6 in the second half – while gobbling up a season-high 12 ground balls.

The Friars (4-4) were limited to just five goals on 28 shots and were paced by two scores from Robert Sheehan and nine saves from Peter Badgely.

Less than three minutes after the Friars opened scoring with a Kennan Assaraf goal five minutes into the contest, Ziegler evened the score with an unassisted goal with 7:39 to go in the frame. Sophomore midfielder Ryan Sharpe (Poway, Calif.) would fire a long, on-target pass to junior attack Shane Morrell (Glen Mills, Pa.) waiting on the edge of the crease for a 2-1 edge less than 90 seconds later for a margin that would hold through the end of the period.

Nolan Fillet evened the game at 2-2 with 8:42 to play in the second, but the Bulldogs would fire off three-straight goals in just a two-minute span – a sharp-angle shot from junior midfielder Collins Gantz (Denver, Colo.) followed by back-to-back scores from James – to take a 5-2 lead with 3:19 remaining before the half.

Sheehan would get on the board in the final 60 seconds for the Friars, who would head to the locker room trailing the Black and Gold, 5-3.

Just 90 seconds into the third, Ziegler took a pass across the crease from classmate Tom Kennedy (Farmingdale, N.Y.) and rolled in a goal behind Badgely to double-up the Friars, 6-3, and a long shot from Sharpe with 5:08 on the clock ran the margin to 7-3.

Providence would score the only two goals of the fourth, including the final one with 51 ticks to go, but it wouldn't be enough to make up the difference in the 7-5 final.

The Bulldogs outshot the Friars, 30-28, in the contest and dominated in the ground ball game, 41-16. Senior defenseman Connor Dent (Havertown, Pa.) grabbed a career-high seven ground balls in the outing with a pair of caused turnovers, while Waldt grabbed five ground balls of his own.

Bryant will look to build on Tuesday's victory as the team re-enters Northeast Conference play Saturday at home against Saint Joseph's (3:00 p.m.). Saturday's game is the second half of a Bryant lacrosse doubleheader and can be seen live on NECFrontRow.com.