Bulldogs take on Dragons in Philadelphia Friday at 5 p.m.

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Coming off one of the biggest wins in program history, the Bryant University men's lacrosse team will look to carry that momentum into another key non-conference battle, this time against a Drexel side on the hunt for its first win of the 2017 season.

With losses to two nationally ranked opponents, the Dragons (0-4) will be ready to play at home Friday night (5 p.m.) against the Bulldogs (3-3), and Drexel owns the edge in the all-time series, 2-4. The Dragons have recorded wins over the Black and Gold in each of the last two seasons and are a perfect 3-0 against Bryant in Philadelphia.

Cole Shafer leads the Dragon offense with 10 goals and 11 points on the season, while Robert Frazee echoes that point total off eight goals and three helpers. Drexel's 42 goals on the year have come from the sticks of 11 different scorers.

Jimmeh Koita has taken the majority of Drexel's restarts, going 37-of-87 (.425) from the X with 16 ground balls. Goalie Jimmy Joe Granito leads the team with 17 ground balls on the season and has posted 41 saves with a .394 save percentage and 15.75 goals against average in four starts.

Will Stabbert has been another top playmaker for the Dragons, accounting for six of the team's 25 caused turnovers, with five more coming from Jude Whalen.

Drexel is 4-for-10 on man-up opportunities this season and has struggled at times on the clear, successful 81 percent of the time.

Friday's game can be seen live at drexeldragons.com.

EXTRA EXTRA
The Bulldogs rank 10th in the nation when it comes to man-up offense, converting extra-man opportunities 52.6 percent of the time. Bryant is 10-for-19 on the season, with seniors Tucker James (Essex Fells, N.J.) and Ryan Sharpe (Poway, Calif.) each accounting for a trio of man-up tallies.

TUCK AND ROLL
With 18 goals and 27 points in 2017, James ranks inside the national top-20 in both goals per game (13th) and points per game (17). James has 11 of those goals and 16 of those points in the last three outings, and the Bulldogs will look for him to stay hot Friday against Drexel. The senior attack is also the reigning NEC Player of the Week, an honor he has garnered in three of the season's first four weeks.

BRICK WALL
Junior goalie James Werner (New Rochelle, N.Y.) also has some strong numbers in his first year between the pipes, ranking 18th nationally and leading the Northeast Conference in goals against average (8.40). He also ranks 20th for save percentage (.548) and 30th in saves per game (10.50). He earned the first NEC Defensive Player of the Week honor of his career Monday.