Forsberg, Werner earn NEC honors, Bulldogs welcome Brown for regular-season finale

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – With the Ocean State Cup on the line, the Bryant University men's lacrosse team hosts intrastate rival Brown Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in a regular-season finale to be played inside the Conaty Indoor Athletic Center.

Please note, due to space limitations inside the Conaty Indoor Athletic Center, Tuesday's game will not be open to the public. Fans can watch the game live and free-of-charge at NECFrontRow.com.

FORSBERG, WERNER EARN NEC WEEKLY ACCOLADES
Bryant University senior midfielder Tom Forsberg (Huntington, N.Y.) and junior goalie James Werner (New Rochelle, N.Y.) have earned Northeast Conference weekly honors for their part in the Bulldogs' 13-5 win over Robert Morris Saturday. 

Forsberg earned the first weekly honor of his career Monday, earning NEC Co-Player of the Week honors after scoring a career-high and game-best five goals in the Bulldogs' victory. The senior showed off his offensive abilities on Senior Day to lead the Black and Gold past previously unbeaten Robert Morris, including netting the eventual game winner to open third-quarter scoring. Forsberg's five tallies doubled his season scoring total and marked his first hat trick of the season. The Huntington, N.Y., native also added three ground balls and one caused turnover in the win.

Earning his second NEC Defensive Player of the Week accolade this season, Werner was instrumental to the Bulldogs' 13-5 win over the Colonials Saturday, recording 10 saves to limit the Colonials to a season-low five goals. Werner leads the league in goals against average (7.89) and ranks second in save percentage (.563).

SCOUTING THE BEARS
Brown comes to Smithfield with a 7-5 overall mark, having already claimed the three-seed in the upcoming Ivy League Tournament. Reigning Tewaaraton Award winner Dylan Molloy leads the Bears with 63 points and 38 goals, while Luke McCaleb (37p) and Stephen Hudak (31p) also post 30+ points and 20+ goals. Junior Ted Ottens has taken nearly all of Brown's faceoffs this season and sits at 219-356 (.615) with 92 ground balls. Senior LSM Larken Kemp contributes 58 ground balls and leads the side with 20 caused turnovers. Rookie Phil Goss has started all 12 games between the pipes for Brown and boasts a .511 save percentage and 13.33 goals against average with 157 stops on the year. His 13.08 saves per game rank first in the nation.

As a team, Brown ranks in the national top-10 in saves per game (2nd), ground balls per game (2nd), goals per game (4th), points per game (6th), faceoff percentage (7th) and assists per game (9th).

WE WANT THE CUP
The Bulldogs are the reigning Ocean State Cup Champions, winning for the third time in 2016 after previously winning back-to-back titles in 2011 and 2012. Brown has taken ownership of the Cup four times since its establishment, winning in its inaugural year (2010) before winning three straight from 2013-15. Providence College is still looking for its first Ocean State Cup title.

INSIDE MAN
Tuesday's game will mark the second regular-season contest the Bulldogs have played inside the new Conaty Indoor Athletic Center. Back on March 13, Bryant took an 18-13 win over Siena inside Conaty and will look to stay perfect inside the building.

ALL-TIME vs. BROWN
Bryant and Brown have met eight times dating back to 2009, with the Bears holding a 5-3 edge in the all-time series. Last season, the Bulldogs shocked a Bruno side then ranked No. 2/3 with an 11-10 overtime victory in Providence, but the Black and Gold are just 1-3 against Brown in Smithfield. Only once has a game in the series been decided by more than two goals (11-7 Brown in 2009), and each of the last two have been one-goal contests.