Bulldogs return home for make-up game against Mountaineers, Tuesday at 1 p.m.

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University men's lacrosse team will look to shake off the overtime loss to St. Joseph's on Saturday when they host Northeast Conference rival Mount St. Mary's on Tuesday at 1:00 p.m.

The Bulldogs (7-4, 2-1 NEC) have experienced several tight contests with the Mountaineers (5-6, 1-2) over the years. Although Tuesday's hosts hold a 5-2 edge in the all-time series, the last three meetings have been decided by a combined five goals, and four of the seven meetings have been separated by two goals or fewer.

Prior to the 10-9 setback at St. Joe's, Bryant had looked strong to start league play with a road victory over Robert Morris followed by an impressive 18-5 win over Wagner, both sandwiched around a win over No. 2 Brown in Providence on April 5. The Mount had won four of five games from March 1st – April 2nd, but have lost the last three, most recently a 12-6 decision to Hobart on Saturday.

Both sides will be looking to add another tally to the winning column on Tuesday afternoon, and will hope to do so behind strong offensive performances. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 4-1 lead on the Hawks this past Saturday after one period, but were held in check for the remainder of the game and could not muster up enough offense over the final three frames.

Senior attack Shane Morrell (Glen Mills, Pa.) and junior mid Ryan Sharpe (Poway, Calif.) tallied two goals and an assist apiece against the Hawks, while junior attack Tucker James (Essex Fells, N.J.) netted two goals. Morrell (5g, 3a) and the NEC's leader with 1.64 assists per game in James (4g, 1a) have tallied points in each of their combined five matchups with the Mountaineers, but no other current Bulldog has done so in what has been defensive battles between the two squads, as only once has either team scored in double-digits in the last three encounters. 

Defensively, the Mountaineers will try to slow down the Bulldogs' starting attack and a deep midfield behind their NEC-leading 8.45 caused turnovers per game (10th nationally). Freshman defensive midfielder Jack Mangen has been tremendous this season at winning back the ball for his offense, as he leads the team with 15 caused turnovers on the year and sits second with 36 ground balls. Mangen, along with sophomore defender Kevin Verkler (10 caused turnovers) will try to force more change of possessions come Tuesday to aid their sophomore netminder, Matt Vierheller. The second-year keeper is 4-4 on the season with 59 saves and a 10.25 goals-against average. He made nine stops and allowed just eight goals in last season's 8-6 loss to Bryant.

Senior captain Gunnar Waldt (Freeland, Md) has been on top of his game of late, making tremendous saves and doing an excellent job of limiting high-powered offenses. Waldt, the league leader with 10.91 saves per game, has made 11 stops in three of the last five contests, and he made a season-high 17 against Brown. The senior goalie has turned away 31 shots against the Mount in three career matchups.

Waldt and the Bulldog defense will need to put their attention on four 20+ point getters for the Mountaineers, led by senior attack Mark Hojnoski. The leader of the offense, Hojnoski has 35 points on 21 goals and 14 helpers, as he sits third in the conference with 1.40 assists per contest. Freshman mid Chris DiPretoro has been stellar in his first collegiate season with 27 points on 22 scores and five helpers. Junior attack Bubba Johnson has tallied 23 points on 14 goals and nine assists, and senior mid Justin Gosnell has 21 points on 13 scores and eight helpers. Hojnsoki, Johnson and Gosnell each caged goals in last season's matchup with Bryant, and Johnson netted a pair of goals and an assist in the 2014 meeting. The Mountaineers offense has done a great job of holding onto possessions all season with a league-low 12.36 turnovers per game.

The matchup of the day will, at least on paper, be at the X. Sophomore mid Kenny Massa (Huntington, N.Y.) was brilliant against St. Joe's against a specialist who was converting opportunities at over 65 percent. Massa went 14-for-22 on the faceoff in that game and was 9-for-12 in the first half. He's winning 53.4 percent of this faceoffs, while sitting second in the league in ground balls per game (6.18). He'll be met at midfield by senior Mike Celmer, converting over 55 percent of his opportunities. Celmer is just edging Massa in the ground ball category with 6.20 per contest.

Tuesday's 1:00 p.m. start can be seen live on NECFrontRow.com and followed along via livestats on BryantBulldogs.com.