Bulldogs stumble against crosstown rival PC, fall in home opener, 7-6, Saturday

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Providence College had an answer for every goal the Bulldogs scored and forced the Bulldogs to come up with some answers of their own late in the contest, scoring four of the final six tallies to top the Bryant University men's lacrosse team, 7-6, Saturday at the Track & Turf Complex.

The loss in Saturday's home opener marks the Friars' (2-1) first win over the Bulldogs (1-2) since 2013.

"On the positive side, we did a great job in the goal and a great job facing off," said Bryant head coach Mike Pressler. "James [Werner] and Kenny [Massa] were lights out today, and our defense was rock solid. We lost the game at the offensive end, and I think PC certainly had a lot to do with that."

Untimely turnovers plagued the Bulldogs, who outshot PC, 34-30, but were outdone in shots on goal, 18-16, on the afternoon. With the game tied inside the final two minutes, an offensive turnover gave the ball back to the visitors, who would run down the clock to the final five seconds before giving possession back to Bryant.

Junior midfielder Tom Forsberg (Huntington, N.Y.) ripped a shot on a good look from the left side of the PC cage in the final second, but Friar netminder Tate Boyce came up with a huge save – his 10th and final – to secure the 7-6 victory.

"We had cracks at the goal and just didn't get it done," said Pressler. "PC is an elite team in the goal and on defense, but we certainly helped them out today."

Every Bryant goal would quickly see a Providence response. Each team scored just once in each of the opening quarters, with senior attack Tucker James (Essex Fells, N.J.) getting on the board first with the man advantage four minutes into the game.

PC would get the goal back with 3:39 on the clock with the first of the day from leading scorer Brendan Kearns, and the next score by either side wouldn't come for an entire period, when sophomore Matt Heldberg (Kings Park, N.Y.) netted his first of the year with 3:59 to go in the second. Junior Kyle Cornell (Darien, Conn.) got a quick look at Heldberg off a restart in the offensive zone, and Heldberg would make it count for a 2-1 Bulldog lead.

But Kearns was back less than three minutes later, scoring on a feed from Nick Hatzipetrakos to even the score once again.

Nearly identical third-quarter wraparound goals from junior attack Cam Ziegler (Carlsbad, Calif.) (13:57) and James (6:32) were echoed by scores from Hatzipetrakos (9:47) and Kearns (6:17) for a 4-4 deadlock entering the final 20 minutes of action.

But PC turned on the offense from there, using Kearns's third goal of the day to jumpstart a three-goal streak (Joseph McHale, 4:09 and Joshua Keller, :06) and take its first lead of the day, 6-4, entering the final stanza.

With 10:36 remaining in regulation, Ziegler would feed middie Ryan Sharpe (Poway, Calif.) on the right side and the senior would record his third tally of the year to cut the deficit to one, 6-5. Just over five minutes later, junior Tom Kennedy (Farmingdale, N.Y.) would score from the lane off an assist from Forsberg to even out the score at 6-6.

But just as the momentum seemed to shift Bryant's way, a turnover sent the ball in the Friar attack sticks, as Hatzipetrakos found Austin Goltz on the doorstep to renew the one-goal PC lead that would eventually go final.

"We were fully aware that this game is always one or two goals either way," said Pressler. "We were very confident that we were going to tie it. We had multiple opportunities all four quarters to make plays at the offensive end, but we just didn't make them and that came back to bite us."

Strong defensive play starred for both sides in the low-scoring affair, and junior defenseman Chas South (Lincroft, N.J.) shined for the Black and Gold with a game-high four caused turnovers and three ground balls. Fellow captain Kyle Mummau (Carlsbad, Calif.) added two more caused turnovers (2 ground balls, while the starting close defense finished the game with seven of the team's 11 caused turnovers and nine of 29 ground balls.

Senior Cody O'Donnell (Smithfield, R.I.) and junior Anthony Johnson (Fairfield, Conn.) each picked up four ground balls, while James led the contest with five to complement his pair of scores.

"We held this team to seven goals," said Pressler. "We did our job at the defensive end."

Junior goalie James Werner (New Rochelle, N.Y.) was strong once again between the pipes, making 11 saves to limit the Friar offense. At the X, junior Kenny Massa (Huntington, N.Y.) also excelled, going 11-of-17 with three ground balls against Alex George, who entered the game at over a 70 percent clip.

"James Werner has been rock solid after three games," said Pressler. "We are getting great play from our first-year starter."

The Bulldogs will have the next week to make adjustments before hosting the University of Hartford in their next matchup on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 3 p.m.