Bulldogs and Hawks renew rivalry, Saturday at 1 p.m. in Philadelphia

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University men's lacrosse team will travel to Philadelphia and play on the very field it won the 2015 Northeast Conference title on when it battles St. Joseph's on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.

"This is the best St. Joe's team we have seen to date," said Bryant head coach Mike Pressler. "They are tremendously well balanced, not a weak spot anywhere and they are very similar to a team like us, playing with a ton of confidence and momentum thanks to a five-game win streak and a 3-0 start in conference."

The Bulldogs (7-3, 2-0 NEC) and Hawks (8-2, 3-0) have developed an evenly-matched rivalry over the past couple of years since this weekend's hosts joined the NEC in 2014. Saturday will mark the sixth all-time meeting between both schools and the fourth as conference foes. Bryant defeated St. Joseph's in 2011 and 2012, but dropped the first two NEC regular-season matchups of the series by a combined three goals. The Black and Gold made up for the regular-season defeats with a 10-6 victory over the then No. 1-seeded Hawks on their home turf in last season's NEC Championship game.

"St. Joe's has an outstanding head coach and an institutional commitment to the sport of lacrosse at the university from top to too bottom," said Pressler. "Rivalries come from games that are continually evenly matched year in and year out, and this is year's matchup is no exception."

The Hawks have looked dominant through the first three games of league action, outscoring opponents by an average of nine goals per. They have not yet lost a regular season game in conference play (12-0) since joining the NEC two seasons ago.

They have been so dominant in NEC games thanks to great balance on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. But much like last year, the Hawks offense has been the driving force to their success, as it sits inside the top-10 nationally in many categories including third in scoring offense (13.70), second in shot percentage (38.0), fifth in points per game (21.60) and seventh in assists per game (7.90).

The offense is once again led by 2015 NEC Player of the Year and junior Tewaaraton Award Watch List attackman, Mike Rastivo. He has 39 points this season on 24 goals and 15 assists, all good for third most in the NEC. Rastivo was not alone in 2015, and the same can be said this year, as reigning NEC Rookie of the Year, attackman Chris Blewitt, has 31 points on 18 goals and 13 helpers. Senior mid Kevin Korster has registered 28 points on 16 goals and 12 assists this season and sophomore attack Kyle Cain has tallied 24 points on 14 scores and 10 helpers. The Hawks offense has also produced three more double-digit goal scorers in 2016 to round out a well-balanced attack unit.

"The key for us Saturday will be continuing to keep the other team off balance and mix what we are doing defensively," said Pressler. "It has been a key factor for us since we started this new season three games ago and it's a theme that needs to continue against an opponent like the Hawks."

The Bryant defense, led by reigning NEC and ECAC Defensive Player of the Week, senior Gunnar Waldt (Freeland, Md.), will have to be on top of their game once again on Saturday. The Bulldogs have been stellar the past two games limiting opponents, first holding then-No. 2/3 Brown to a season-low 10 goals on April 5, and holding Wagner to just five goals on April 9. Waldt has been sound between the pipes against the Hawks in his career, making 33 stops and allowing 23 goals while holding them under 10 goals in each game. Waldt continues to lead the league in saves per game (10.90) and he sits second in save percentage (53.4).

The St. Joseph's crease and its defense has been playing equally as well all season long and has matched the efficiency of its offense. The Hawks lead the conference and rank seventh in the country in scoring defense at 7.30 goals allowed per game. They also hold the fifth-best man-up scoring defense at the DI ranks (77.5). That defense is paced by junior netminder T.J. Jones, who sits second in the country with a 60.8 save percentage and fifth nationally with a 6.66 goals-against average. Jones is situated just behind Waldt for most saves per game in the NEC (9.60). In front of Jones is the veteran long pole of senior defender John Winchell. Winchell, a two-time All-NEC First Team selection, leads the team with 12 caused turnovers. He'll be asked to lead the group of defenders whose sole job on Saturday will be limiting a Bryant offense that just erupted for 18 goals last time out.

"They've only given up 10 goals once this season and it happened in a loss," said Pressler. "It is an important goal for us to get to double digits if possible, and when you get to at least 10 it comes from spreading the wealth and a tremendous balance between the midfield and attack."

Junior attack Tucker James (Essex Fells, N.J.) had a career day with 13 points on six goals and seven assists in an 18-5 win over Wagner on April 9. Senior attack Shane Morrell (Glen Mills, Pa.) was also sensational in that win with four scores and a pair of helpers. Sophomore attack Cam Ziegler (Carlsbad, Calif) had his best performance since the February 14th game against Bucknell, caging two shots and handing out a pair of nice assists in the Wagner game.

The Bulldogs have been getting that balance, as it's not just the starting attack generating points. Junior mid Ryan Sharpe (Poway, Calif.) has tallied hat tricks to go along with a helper in two-consecutive outings, and midfielders Tom Kennedy (Farmingdale, N.Y.) and Tom Forsberg (Huntington, N.Y.) have each registered points in three-straight games, with the former charting multiple points in all three of those contests.

Both James (3g, 3a) and Morrell (8g, 2a) have been the catalysts to Bryant's offense against the Hawks in their careers. But no other current Bulldog has had much success against St. Joseph's offensively, as the previous three meetings have been defensive struggles, with Bryant being the only team to get to 10 goals in any of the encounters.

The one area in which the Bulldogs have dominated in between the rectangle during the series has been at the X. Out of the 59 faceoff matchups between both sides over the last three meetings, Bryant has won 44. Though this year's battle at the X will be slightly different, it will still be intriguing. Junior specialist Mike Lanham has been a standout on the faceoff this season, as he wins 65 percent of his opportunities, good for eighth in the country. Sophomore mid Kenny Massa (Huntington, N.Y.) has flashed dominance in spurts over the past couple of games. Massa sits fourth in the NEC with a 52.5 winning percentage at the X, and his 6.4 ground balls per game ranks 10th on the DI circuit.

"We hope Kenny can at worst make it a 50/50 game at the faceoff," said Pressler. "For the first time in this matchup between the Bulldogs and Hawks, the script has flipped and the winning percentage at the X has flipped completely."

Saturday's showdown can be seen on NECFrontRow.com and followed along via livestats on SJUHawks.com.