Morrell paces Bulldog comeback, Bryant tops PC, 12-10, in Ocean State Cup classic

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – A four-goal, two-assist offensive outburst from senior attack Shane Morrell (Glen Mills, Pa.) paced the Bryant University men's lacrosse team to a 12-10 victory over intrastate rival Providence College Saturday afternoon at Chapey Field.

Morrell's six-point day paced nine Bulldog (2-1) scorers and 10 different point getters as the Black and Gold rebounded from a 5-1 Friar (1-2) first quarter to earn the win in the 2016 Ocean State Cup opener.

"To have that many different scorers shows our commitment to playing offense quicker and earlier than we have in the past," said Bryant head coach Mike Pressler. "If we get to 10, more times than not, we are successful."

It was the Friars, though, who would get out to a 6-1 start through the opening four minutes of the second stanza, getting the game-opening goal just 28 seconds into the contest and closing out the frame with two tallies in the final 14 seconds. Those goals – unassisted scores by Brendan Kearns and Colin McKendry – gave the hosts the 5-1 lead entering the second quarter.

"PC caught us on our heels in that first quarter, and we made some mistakes that they capitalized on," said Pressler. "But I was really, really pleased with our response to get back into the game and tie it at 6-6."

After Chris Zanelli scored the fifth-straight Providence goal with 11:12 to play in the second, the Bulldogs' turned on the heat at the attack. Rookie Brady O'Donnell (Smithfield, R.I.) kicked off a six-goal run with an unassisted tally at the 8:51 mark, and Morrell would register his first of the day just over a minute later to cut the deficit to 6-3.

It would take just another 1:47 for Morrell to get back on the statsheet, dishing out a pass to junior Brett Baker (Ridgefield, Conn.), who would fire a shot past PC goalie Tate Boyce for the side's fourth goal of the day. Morrell then made good on his own opportunity with 1:03 left before the break for a 6-5 margin still favoring the hosts, but a Ryan Sharpe (Poway, Calif.) unassisted goal with 28 ticks to play would send the sides into the locker room in a 6-6 tie.

"Lacrosse is a game of runs, and fortunately for us, we had a little bit more than PC in that regard," said Pressler. "But once it got to 6-6 at half, it was anybody's game. I told the team early in the week that this game would be decided at the final horn. You have to play 60 full minutes to beat these guys, and that proved to be true."

Junior Tom Forsberg (Huntington, N.Y.) gave the visitors their first lead of the day just more than three minutes into the third in unassisted fashion, but neither team would find the back of the net for the next eight minutes until Ryan Schaffer finally broke through to reknot the game at 7-7 and put an end to Bryant's run.

Morrell wasted no time getting the goal back, however, putting the Bulldogs on top, 8-7, 46 seconds later, and sophomore faceoff specialist Kenny Massa (Huntington, N.Y.) doubled the visitors' advantage five seconds later off a clean faceoff win.

But once again, the Friars would come back to tie it, scoring twice in the final 90 seconds to send the game into the fourth in a 9-9 deadlock.

"The key thing for us was that from halftime on, PC never re-took the lead," said Pressler. "That was huge for us from a confidence standpoint."

Sophomore attack Cam Ziegler (Carlsbad, Calif.) got to the point just 10 seconds into the final period, giving the Black and Gold a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Senior midfielder Collins Gantz (Denver, Colo.) netted the eventual game winner 35 seconds later, and while Nolen Fillet brought the home side back within one, 11-10, with 5:58 to play, Morrell would cap off his day with one final goal for the 12-10 final.

"Shane had a terrific game," said Pressler. "We are really pleased with his output in his first big day of the 2016 season."

On the contest, the Bulldogs outshot the Friars, 46-41, and dominated the ground ball game, 42-28, behind a 17-of-26 effort from Massa at the X. Sharpe paced the contest with six ground balls, while sophomore defenseman Chas South (Lincroft, N.J.) added five more with a trio of caused turnovers.

Boyce posted a strong performance between the pipes for the Friars, making 21 saves, while senior captain Gunnar Waldt (Freeland, Md.) turned away 16 for the win. The Bulldogs went 0-for-2 on extra man opportunities, while PC made good on one of its three chances with the man advantage.

"To come back from down, 6-1, on the road against your archrival, that gave our team a lot of confidence and momentum moving forward in the early season," said Pressler.

The Black and Gold will look to capitalize on that momentum in their next outing, as they travel to West Hartford, Conn., for a 1 p.m. Saturday contest against the University of Hartford.