Fourth-quarter comeback falls short as Bulldogs drop 11-10 heartbreaker to Bucknell Sunday

TAUNTON, Mass. – The Bryant University men's lacrosse team scored five fourth-quarter goals – including three in the final three minutes – to pull within a single tally, but the Bulldogs could not get the equalizer in the game's final seconds, falling to Bucknell, 11-10, Sunday afternoon.

Bucknell (2-0) would take a 10-5 lead into the fourth thanks to three-straight unassisted goals in the final 6:39 of the third stanza. But the Bulldogs (1-1) were far from out of contention, digging deep in the final 15 minutes to nearly even the score.

Senior captain Shane Morrell (Glen Mills, Pa.) registered his first tally of the year in unassisted fashion with 8:13 to play, forcing a Bison turnover deep in the defensive end, picking up the ground ball and firing a quick shot past netminder Christian Klipstein (10 saves).

Sophomore linemate Cam Ziegler (Carlsbad, Calif.) netted his second of the day and sixth of the young season just 19 ticks later to narrow the gap to 10-7, but Bucknell's Connor O'Hara would get it right back just over a minute later.

As the clock ticked under three to play, sophomore midfielder Tom Kennedy (Farmingdale, N.Y.) deposited a pass from junior Tucker James (Essex Fells, N.J.) behind Klipstein for an 11-8 margin, and off a Bucknell faceoff violation, junior longpole Cody O'Donnell (Smithfield, R.I.) fought his way through traffic up the middle to score his first of the year with 2:39 left on the clock.

The two-goal margin would close to just one 1:35 later, as Kennedy fired a low shot into the left corner of the cage for an 11-10 edge favoring the visiting Bison that left just 1:04 on the clock.

But a Bulldog timeout with 29 seconds to play would bear no fruit, as a tough Bucknell defense thwarted the Bryant offense as time expired without a final shot on goal.

"Even though we were down five at the beginning of the fourth, there was no panic," said Bryant head coach Mike Pressler. "We totally believed that we could come back. We made some incredible plays down the stretch to cut it to one, and we had the ball on offense with 28 seconds to go. We just never brought the comeback all the way home.

"Collins Gantz had a shot right off the bat and chose not to take it," said Pressler of the final possession. "He tried to get a closer look, and give Bucknell credit, they didn't give us a real good crack after that. But he'll make that play next time around – we are confident of that."

On the day, the Bison outshot the Bulldogs, 36-32, with senior goalie Gunnar Waldt (Freeland, Md.) turning away 11 despite the loss. Sophomore faceoff specialist Kenny Massa (Huntington, N.Y.) went 11-of-24 from the X with a team-high five ground balls, including a 5-for-7 mark in the fourth quarter. The Black and Gold won the ground ball battle, 35-29, on the afternoon.

Freshman Jarett Witzal went 10-of-15 for the visitors, while sophomore Sam Hahn posted a 3-for-9 mark against Massa. Bucknell's 13-for-24 clip on the day was aided in great part by strong wing play, including seven ground balls from senior Alex Spring and four more from Matt Gilray.

"They outfought us in the lanes," said Pressler. "We prepared for that all week, but Spring and Gilray just won that battle."

Bucknell got the scoring started right out of the opening faceoff, as Gilray picked up the ground ball and came down for a quick low shot that got past Waldt. Will Sands doubled the visitors' lead five minutes later off a pass from Gilray in transition, but senior middie Collins Gantz (Denver, Colo.) would cut the Bulldogs' deficit in half at the 7:10 mark after taking a pass from James in the middle of the field.

The Bison would control the rest of the frame, though, thanks in part to six Bryant turnovers, scoring twice more just 64 seconds apart for a 4-1 edge entering the first break.

But the Black and Gold came out recharged in the second quarter, moving the score to 4-2 after a quick clear led to a Ziegler pass across the goal mouth to a waiting James on the right edge of the crease.

Brett Baker (Ridgefield, Conn.) drew the Bulldogs within one just over a minute later, creating his own opportunity out in front for an unassisted tally and 4-3 margin at the 11:12 mark. But it would take Bucknell just 15 seconds to renew the two-goal advantage, this one from O'Hara directly off the ensuing faceoff win.

Ziegler found the back of the net off a Morrell pass 57 ticks later, marking the third Black and Gold goal in just a 2:34 span.

And while the scoring would quiet from there, the Bison would get two more in the final 60 seconds – including a Sands score with just three ticks remaining – to take a 7-4 lead into halftime.

"We were down, 4-1, and we cut it to 4-3 and then 5-4, but what really hurt us were those last two goals in the last minute of the first half," said Pressler. "We gave up two soft goals to close the half out, 7-4, when it should have been a 5-4 game at the break, and those two are on us."

The third quarter saw junior Ryan Sharpe (Poway, Calif.) get on the board early in the Bulldogs' only man-up opportunity of the day to cut the score to 7-5, but three-straight Bucknell goals would set up the fourth-quarter drama.

The Bulldogs will look to shake the loss quickly, as they hit the road for their next two contests, traveling to nearby Providence College for the first battle of the 2016 Ocean State Cup on Saturday, Feb. 20 at 1 p.m. before heading to Hartford Feb. 27 (1 p.m.).