Bulldogs open NEC play at Mount St. Mary's Saturday (12p)

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University men's lacrosse team heads into the heart of its 2017 schedule Saturday afternoon on the road, taking on Mount St. Mary's in its Northeast Conference opener at Waldron Family Stadium at 12 p.m.

The Mount (1-4) enters conference play off its first victory of the season, an 18-7 win over Bellarmine on the road. The win marked the first double-digit scoring game for Mount St. Mary's in 2017, as the Mountaineers had been limited to a just seven (Richmond, Furman) and five (Delaware, Towson) goals in their four previous outings. The closest final margin Saturday's hosts have played in has been a 10-7 home loss against Richmond.

As a team, Mount averages just 8.40 goals per outing behind a 10-goal effort from leading scorer Chris DiPretoro (13 points). Bubba Johnson and reigning NEC Rookie of the Week Brenden McCarthy each have seven scores on the season, while Jack Mangan's five assists (8 points) mark a team best.

Mount St. Mary's has tried out four different hands at the faceoff X, but primarily turn to rookie Shawn Raum and his .404 winning percentage (36-89). Raum went 15-of-25 with five ground balls against Bellarmine in the top performance of his young career but will be up against a hot Kenny Massa (Huntington, N.Y.), who is 63-of-94 (.670) over his last four outings.

Defensively, junior Matt Vierheller has all five starts between the pipes for the Mount, registering 37 saves on the year with a 13.00 goals against average and .416 save percentage. He, along with senior defenseman Tommy Lyons, leads the side with 11 ground balls. Junior longpole Daniel Barber has four of the team's 24 caused turnovers on the year.

Mount St. Mary's is just 5-of-13 on extra man opportunities in 2017, a category in which the Black and Gold have dominated. Bryant (4-4) currently ranks second nationally with the man advantage, converting 59.3 percent of the time (16-27). Senior midfielder Ryan Sharpe (Poway, Calif.) leads the country with five man-up scores this season. The Bulldogs also rank in the national top-20 in man-down defense, limiting opponents to just six goals in 20 opportunities.

Bryant averages 11.13 goals per contest through eight games, paced by the nation's 12th-leading scorer in senior Tucker James (Essex Fells, N.J.) (3.00 goals per game). James also ranks 10th in man-up scores (4) and 14th in points per game (4.75).

BRYANT IN NEC OPENERS
The Bulldogs are 4-2 all-time in NEC openers dating back to the first official Northeast Conference contest in 2011. Bryant edged out Robert Morris in last season's league starter, 13-12, but has never played Mount St. Mary's this early in the league slate.

BRYANT vs. MOUNT ST. MARY'S
The Bulldogs are 7-2 all-time against the Mountaineers and enter Saturday's contest on a three-game win streak dating back to the 2014 meeting, but both Bryant losses have come in Emmitsburg, where the team's will be facing off on Saturday. Bryant last fell to the Mount April 20, 2013 in a 10-9 decision. Mount St. Mary's only other win over the Black and Gold came in the NEC Tournament Semifinals back in 2011 (14-9). Three of the five all-time contests played in Maryland have been decided by just a single goal, with one more determined by just a pair.

LUCKY 13
The 13 goals the Bulldogs gave up in their 18-13 home win over Siena Monday marked the most goals allowed this season and the most allowed in just more than an entire year. The Bulldogs gave up 14 goals to Drexel on March 12, 2016.

BACK-TO-BACK BLUES
Bryant will be looking for its first consecutive victories of the season when its faces off against the Mount Saturday. Fans can watch the contest live on NECFrontRow.com.