Bryant battles Providence Saturday in Ocean State clash
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Bryant University men's lacrosse team plays away from Smithfield for the first time in 2018 when the Bulldogs make an eight-mile trip to the state capital for a Saturday game at Providence.
The game can be seen on television in Rhode Island on YurView, which is channel 4 (SD) and 1004 (HD) on Cox Cable.
THE PARTICULARS
Opponent: Providence
Game Time: Saturday, Feb. 17 – 1 p.m.
Watch Live: YurView
Live Stats: Friars.com
THE SERIES
The Bulldogs and Friars are meeting for the ninth-consecutive season with Bryant holding a 6-2 advantage in the series. The Bulldogs are 4-0 in games played in Providence.
The Friars captured a 7-6 victory in Smithfield last season in the Bulldogs' home opener. Chas South recorded four caused turnovers and three ground balls in the defeat. Senior Cam Ziegler (Carlsbad, Calif.) has scored in all three of his previous meetings with Providence, recording four goals and two assists.
SCOUTING THE FRIARS
Providence is 1-1 on the year with a 12-11 overtime loss at Boston University and a 9-6 home win over Holy Cross. Zach Masessa was named Big East Freshman of the Week for his effort in the first two games of the Friars' season.
Nick Hatzipetrakos leads the Friars with six goals on the year, while Sean Leahey has added five goals and three assists. Tate Boyce has made 17 saves in two games with an 8.77 goals-against average.
BRYANT vs. THE BIG EAST
Providence is the only current Big East member Bryant has faced with eight meetings between the two schools separated by an eight-mile drive. Five Big East members - Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's and Villanova - sponsor men's lacrosse and are joined in the league by affiliate member Denver.
LAST TIME OUT: BUCKNELL 14, BRYANT 12
Senior Cam Ziegler recorded five assists and senior Tom Kennedy (Farmingdale, N.Y.) tallied three goals, but Bryant was unable to overcome an early 5-1 deficit in Bucknell's 14-12 victory (2/10).
O'ROURKE NAMED NEC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Freshman Marc O'Rourke (Hingham, Mass.) was selected as Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week for his performance in the Bulldogs' first two games of the season, recording five goals, three assists and eight ground balls. O'Rourke ranks 11th or better nationally among D1 freshmen in goals per game, assists per game and ground balls per game.
CUP OF COFFEY
Sophomore Zach Coffey (West Newbury, Mass.) has recorded two caused turnovers in each of the Bulldogs' first two games of 2018 and scored his first two collegiate goals in the game against Bucknell (2/10).
A(SSIST) FROM Z(IEGLER)
Senior Cam Ziegler ranks fifth nationally entering the week with 3.00 assists per game. Ziegler leads the NEC and all New England D1 players after his five-assist performance against Bucknell (2/10).
EIGHT IS GREAT
Eight different Bulldogs have recorded a multi-goal game in Bryant's first two contests of the year. The Black and Gold had five players with two or more goals against Manhattan (2/3) and Bucknell (2/10), with junior Matt Heldberg (Kings Park, N.Y.) and freshman Marc O'Rourke accomplishing the feat in both games.
BULLDOGS AMONG NEW ENGLAND'S BEST
Bryant has won 98 games since joining Division I in 2009 - the highest total of the 15 Division I lacrosse programs in the six New England states. The Bulldogs' .609 winning percentage over those 10 seasons ranks third in New England behind Yale (.674) and Brown (.626).
NEXT UP: HARTFORD
Bryant travels to the Nutmeg State next Saturday for a game at Hartford. The 2 p.m. game in West Hartford, Connecticut, can be seen on ESPN3.
Bryant University Athletics has announced the Spring Sports Pass for the upcoming spring season. The Spring Sports Pass allows admission to all home men's and women's lacrosse, baseball and softball events for just $50. The Spring Sports Pass can be purchased by clicking HERE.
Follow Bryant University men's lacrosse on Twitter and Instagram to get an inside look at the program.