No. 8 Albany squeaks past Bulldogs, 10-8, Tuesday night at home

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University men's lacrosse team held NCAA Division I points leader Lyle Thompson to just a pair of goals, but two unanswered tallies in the second half of the fourth quarter would push No. 8 Albany past the Bulldogs, 10-8, Tuesday night at the Bryant Turf Complex.

Thompson set the record with his first point of the day – an assist to open the second quarter – and finished the evening with three points for the nationally ranked Great Danes (10-2). But it was Seth Oakes who was most impactful on offense, registering a game-high five points, including the game's only hat trick.

The Bulldogs (5-8) saw three points from junior attack Shane Morrell (Glen Mills, Pa.) in the form of a goal and two assists, while linemates Tucker James (Essex Fells, N.J.) and Cam Ziegler (Carlsbad, Calif.) each found the back of the net twice in the contest. Junior goalie Gunnar Waldt (Freeland, Md.) tied his season high with 15 saves to limit the nation's top-rated offense (17.64 goals per game) to 10 scores on the night.

James got the Bulldogs on the board less than 90 seconds into the game, scooping up the ground ball after a Blaze Riorden (11 saves) stop and firing a low rolling shot from the ground into the Great Dane net.

Albany would neutralize that lead less than a minute later, a process that would repeat for a 2-2 tie with 6:50 left to play in the first. But with four to go, Morrell whizzed a sharp-angled shot over Riorden's shoulder into the goal's side netting, and rookie Tom Kennedy (Farmingdale, N.Y.) would make the Bulldogs' lead 4-2 with an unassisted score with just 1:03 left in the frame.

But the Great Danes took over in the second stanza, making up that difference and then some with a four-goal stretch that moved the scoreboard to 6-4 in favor of the visitors with 5:49 left before the halftime break.

Kennedy would feed junior midfielder Collins Gantz (Denver, Colo.) for one more Black and Gold goal with 35 ticks to go in the second quarter, but Albany would head to the locker room with the 6-5 halftime edge.

Six minutes into the third, that difference would double with Connor Fields's second goal of the day, and the 7-5 margin would hold entering the final six minutes of the frame.

Ziegler, assisted by Morrell, drew Bryant back within one with 5:31 to play, and just 13 seconds later – mauled by four Great Danes – sophomore Cody O'Donnell (Smithfield, R.I.) evened the score at 7-7, fighting through pressure and whipping a low shot that beat Riorden for the draw.

The tie would remain entering the final quarter, and while a second Ziegler goal – assisted by senior faceoff specialist Kevin Massa (Huntington, N.Y.) – forced another deadlock at 8-8, Oakes would score the go-ahead goal with 8:37 left in regulation before a Thompson tally with 34 seconds to go sealed the Great Danes' 10-8 victory.

Massa was impressive once again at the faceoff X, winning 14-of-21 while picking up a season-high 13 ground balls and notching his first point of the season. Massa's day paced Bryant to a 38-32 margin in ground balls, while Albany outshot the Bulldogs, 45-29, on the day. Turnovers also plagued the Black and Gold once more, as the team committed a season-high 22 miscues. Senior defenseman Connor Dent (Havertown, Pa.) caused three Great Dane giveaways in the tilt.

The Bulldogs continue their two-game-a-week trend on Saturday, when they travel to Mount St. Mary's for the NEC finale in Emmitsburg, Md., at 12:00 p.m. Bryant will then return home to host intrastate rival Brown in the final game of the regular season Tuesday, April 21 at 7:00 p.m. Both games can be seen live on NECFrontRow.com.