Bulldogs go for fifth-straight NEC title, fourth NCAA tournament berth in 2016

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The four-time Northeast Conference Tournament Champions are reloaded and ready to defend their crowns in 2016, as the Bryant University men's lacrosse team looks to keep its title streak alive and return to the NCAA tournament for the fourth-straight year this spring.

Having earned the league's first three NCAA tournament berths and last four tournament championships, the Bulldogs will have a bigger target on their backs than ever this season under the direction of 10th-year head coach Mike Pressler.

"We have completed 23 preseason practices and two scrimmages against outside competition since returning to Smithfield," said Pressler. "Now, we are really excited to turn the scoreboard on for the first time and play a different colored jersey when it counts."

The team's journey will start Saturday afternoon against first-time opponent Manhattan College, a squad that was tabbed seventh in the MAAC Preseason Poll but is poised to make huge strides forward this spring under first-year head coach Drew Kelleher.

The Jaspers return five of their top seven scorers from a season ago and add 14 to their 2016 roster after a challenging 2015 campaign. MAAC All-Rookie Team selection Andrew Gresham headlines that group and is the only double-digit goal scorer returning to the lineup (13 goals, 9 assists).

All three of the team's faceoff options return in 2016, led by a 51.7 percent clip from Jack Fowler (74-143), while all-rookie team nod Frank Merrill is back to pace the defense after leading the squad with 48 ground balls and 12 caused turnovers a season ago.

Three different netminders graced the Jasper crease in 2015, and two – Michael Zingaro and Jonathan Cottrell – return between the pipes. Zingaro saw most of the action for Manhattan last season, appearing in 12 games while getting eight starts to post a 12.54 goals against average and .480 save percentage (107 saves).

"We are really excited for this opener against a team that we have never played before," said Pressler. "They have a very gifted young coach in Drew Kelleher, and Manhattan has made a big commitment to Division I lacrosse in many different ways. Speaking for our program, we have great respect for the Jaspers and their coaching staff."

The three seed in the 2015 NEC Tournament, the Bulldogs finished the 2015 season 8-10 overall and 4-2 in league play, avenging regular-season losses to Hobart and Saint Joseph's en route to the 2015 title. The Black and Gold would go on to drop a 10-6 decision to No. 20 Marist in the NCAA First Four, but Bryant would be well recognized for its efforts, seeing a trio named All-New England selections and a pair named USILA All-Americans.

Included in that group is returning goalie, senior captain and Third Team All-American Gunnar Waldt (Freeland, Md.), who headlines a strong core of returning veterans. But key losses throughout the Black and Gold lineup will have Pressler's Bulldogs relying on youth and depth early and often in 2016.

GOAL
Bryant's success in 2016 will start from the back, where Waldt – the two-time All-American and two-time NEC Defensive Player of the Year – returns for his final campaign between the pipes. After finishing last season ranked inside the nation's top-20 for all three goalie statistics – save percentage (5th, .578), goals against average (9th, 8.24) and saves per game (17th, 11.11) – the senior captain enters 2016 ranked second on the program's career saves list (574) and tied for its all-time wins mark (30).

"In my 32 years of college coaching, Gunnar is up there with the top two or three goalies that I have ever coached, at any place in my tenure," said Pressler. "Arguably one of the best stoppers in college lacrosse today, he is certainly a field general for us out there and is greatly respected by his teammates. And he's never started a season in better shape than he is right now."

But with four goalies on the roster, the Bulldogs have plenty of support waiting in the wings. That depth starts with sophomore James Werner (New Rochelle, N.Y.) and continues with a pair of freshman in 6-foot Kevin Beimfohr (Mountain Lakes, N.J.) and 6-foot-2 Charlie Faughnan (Mount Sinai, N.Y.).

CLOSE DEFENSE
Despite the loss of four-year starter and senior captain Connor Dent, the Bulldog backline returns nearly intact and with plenty of experience despite its youth.

"We have four close defensemen that we feel very good about," said Pressler. "We expect all four to see a lot of playing time Saturday and in the future."

The Bulldogs will take full advantage of that four-man rotation made up of all underclassmen in 2016, a group headed up by junior All-NEC First Teamer Kyle Mummau (Carlsbad, Calif.). The team's top cover option returns to anchor the close defense after missing the second half of the 2015 season due to injury.

Mummau will be flanked by another returning starter in sophomore Chas South (Lincroft, N.J.), who picked up 43 ground balls while forcing 13 caused turnovers a season ago, earning NEC All-Rookie Team honors in the process.

"Kyle is an incredible cover guy – one of the greatest I've coached at any level," said Pressler. "Chas, on the other hand, is an absolute ball hawk. He knocks down passes, picks up ground balls – he gives us extra possessions."

The team's fourth defenseman in 2015, now-sophomore Anthony Johnson (Fairfield, Conn.) steps into the permanent rotation protecting the Bulldog crease in 2016 after appearing in all 18 games as a rookie. He finished his freshman season tied for second on the team with 13 caused turnovers and added 15 ground balls. Sophomore Jake Chandler (Charlotte, N.C.) also joins the mix, rounding out the four-man group.

"Anthony and Jake give us great versatility," said Pressler. "They give us great transition play, and Jake – along with sophomore midfielder Kyle Cornell (Darien, Conn.) – is without question one of our most improved players."

LONGSTICK DEFENSIVE MIDFIELD
For the third-straight season, Pressler will have consistency in his longpole ranks, as the Bulldogs return top juniors Cody O'Donnell (Smithfield, R.I.) and Jared Kaden (Martinsville, N.J.) to anchor one of the team's most talented positions.

O'Donnell, a local product and All-NEC Second Team selection in 2015, appeared in 15 games as the Bulldogs' top LSM and has proven he has the ability to step in at close defense when needed. But the real threat O'Donnell poses is on the opposite end of the field, where he is deadly when given the opportunity. One of the top offensive longpoles in the nation in each of his first two seasons, O'Donnell scored seven goals and notched nine points as a sophomore, including three tallies in the NEC Tournament alone.

Despite missing nine contests due to injury last season, Kaden also returns to the LSM ranks after appearing in nine games in 2015. Newcomer Mike Vailas (Bedford, N.H.) has also earned the right to rotate onto the field at the position.

"Cody O'Donnell is as gifted and as talented and as versatile of an LSM as I have ever coached," Pressler said. "Jared Kaden is the most consistent in terms of his play, and Mike Vailas is extremely athletic and has great poise already as a freshman."

SHORTSTICK DEFENSIVE MIDFIELD
A number of new faces will see significant action in the defensive midfield, a corps led by Cornell and senior captain Willy Gould (New Canaan, Conn.).Gould, who saw action as the team's No. 3 longpole last year, made the transition to shortstick defensive middie following his junior season.

"Kyle has had a breakout fall and preseason and has demonstrated great versatility at both the defensive and offensive ends," said Pressler. "Willy has made a great transition to shortstick defensive middie, and we couldn't be more pleased by his development. He will play a lot of minutes for us."

Fighting for time behind the pair will be freshman Will Hamernick (Darien, Conn.), sophomore Jake Pellegrino (Glen Rock, N.J.) and junior Will Montero (Walnut Creek, Calif.).

FACEOFF
Undoubtedly, the biggest loss the Bulldogs will contend with is the departure of three-time All-American faceoff specialist Kevin Massa. With seven NCAA single-game, single-season and career records set while donning the Black and Gold, Massa – who was named the NEC Player of the Year in each of his last three seasons – took all but 24 faceoffs over his four-year career, leaving the program with an all-time .682 mark at the X and an NCAA-record 755 ground balls (9.93 per game).

But while Kevin may no longer be a Bulldog, the Massa legacy lives on through younger brother Kenny Massa (Huntington, N.Y.), who will take over at the X in 2016. The younger Massa, currently a sophomore, appeared in all 18 games as a top defensive midfielder in 2015 and brings a different set of skills to the faceoff X.

"Kenny is so much more versatile than his older brother," said Pressler. "He was a defensive midfielder for us last year, and he is very gifted as an offensive player as well. He has waited his turn behind his brother, and in all my years, I've never come across a player more dedicated or with a greater work ethic than No. 31."

Backing up Massa will be another player who has made a position change for the good of the team in junior Graham Seuffert (Greenville, Del.).

MIDFIELD
"When we look at our midfield, we think we have  a lot of depth," said Pressler. "We have 11 guys in the mix right now, and I think it's a very balanced group with a lot of true two-way midfielders."

At the forefront of that group are returning starters Collins Gantz (Denver, Colo.) and Ryan Sharpe (Poway, Calif.). Gantz, an all-conference first team returner, finished third on the team in goals (16) and points (28) last season and has started all but a single game throughout his career in Smithfield. Sharpe added nine goals and six assists as a sophomore starter, picking up a hat trick against Hartford.

Joining them once again on the top midfield line will be sophomore Tom Kennedy (Farmingdale, N.Y.), who earned 14 starts on his way to an NEC All-Rookie Team nod, ranking third on the squad in assists (14) and points (28) and fifth in goals (14).

"The things that come to mind when you think of Collins, Ryan and Tom are their speed and how gifted they are with both hands," said Pressler.

Beyond the trio, the Bulldogs will look to junior converted attack Brett Baker (Ridgefield, Conn.) for an extra spark.

"Baker has done a terrific job with his position change and is very versatile in the fact that he is a solid two-way guy," said Pressler.

Bryant will mix and match its midfield lines from there, looking in part to two big, talented and physical freshmen in Kevin Quigley (Fairfax Station, Va.) and Jake Buonaiuto (Miller Place, N.Y.). Also in the mix are sophomores Nick Hallmark (Novato, Calif.) and Tommy Vailas (Bedford, N.H.), and juniors Tom Forsberg (Huntington, N.Y.), Spencer Herman (Mountain Lakes, N.J.) and Pearse McEneaney (Glastonbury, Conn.).

ATTACK
Bryant's top attack line also returns intact in 2016, led by all-conference standouts Shane Morrell (Glen Mills, Pa.) and Tucker James (Essex Fells, N.J.). The duo represent the only two players in the Bulldogs' Division I history to post back-to-back 50-point seasons, finishing the 2015 campaign with 51 and 50 points, respectively.

Morrell, a senior captain and three-time All-NEC honoree, enters his fourth season as a starter on attack and currently sits sixth in the program record books for career points (159) and career goals (103). His 56 assists sit eighth, while the Pennsylvania product led the Black and Gold in points (51) and assists (20) as a junior.

James, a two-time all-conference selection himself, led the Black and Gold with 34 goals in 2015, posting 16 assists for 50 points on the year. The deadly lefty found the back of the net in all but a single contest as a sophomore, netting four hat tricks and at least one point in all 18 outings.

Returning alongside the pair, sophomore Cam Ziegler (Carlsbad, Calif.) posted an impressive rookie season, earning 16 starts on the top line en route to an NEC All-Rookie Team nomination. Tallying 15 goals and five assists a season ago, Ziegler will be expected to find even more success with a year under his belt.

"In my 10 years at Bryant, this is our best and most complete attack group," said Pressler. "All three were starters a year ago, and this is a big, athletic, physical unit. All three are completely different players who complement each other extremely well.

"Offensively, the Bulldogs will go how Shane, Tucker and Cam go."

Two more players who will look to make an impression on attack are redshirt-freshman Brady O'Donnell (Smithfield, R.I.) and sophomore Trevor Bovich (West Islip, N.Y.).

"Brady and Trevor had outstanding preseasons," Pressler said. "Both of those guys continue to compete for playing time, and both will give us great depth at this position."

A trio of rookies – Luke Finneran (Greenwich, Conn.), Ryan Cerino (Greer, S.C.) and Gabe Remshardt (Saint Louis, Mo.) – are also in the mix for a chance to show what they can do.

Saturday's season opener will faceoff at 1:00 p.m. from the Bryant Turf Complex. The contest can be seen live and free-of-charge at NECFrontRow.com.