Bryant clashes with No. 11 Yale Saturday; game time changed to 3 p.m.
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University men's lacrosse team continues a three-game homestand Saturday when the Black and Gold host No. 11 Yale at the Bryant Track & Turf Complex. The game time has been changed to 3 p.m. due to weather conditions.
A victory Saturday would be the 200th in Bryant's program history and the 100th as a Division I member. The Bulldog program started in 2000 and the Black and Gold began play in Division I in 2009. Bryant is 124-73 since head coach Mike Pressler arrived in Smithfield for the 2007 season.
THE PARTICULARS
Opponent: No. 11 Yale
Game Time: Saturday, March 3 – 3 p.m.
Tickets: BryantBulldogs.com
Watch Live: NEC Front Row
Live Stats: BryantBulldogs.com
SCOUTING THE YALE BULLDOGS
Yale is 2-1 on the year, as the Bulldogs rebounded from an overtime loss to Villanova in Yale's season opener to pick up wins over Michigan and UMass entering Saturday.
Ben Reeves, a 2017 Tewaaraton finalist, leads the Yale offense with 10 goals and 10 assists for 20 points. Reeves' 6.67 points per game rank fifth nationally through Tuesday's games. Yale is second in the nation in assists per game (9.33) and sixth in points per game (21.67) through three games.
Yale went 10-6 a year ago and won the Ivy League Tournament Championship before falling to Syracuse by one goal in the NCAA First Round.
THE SERIES
Bryant and Yale are meeting for the eighth time in nine seasons with the Bulldogs from New Haven holding a 5-2 advantage. Bryant won last year's meeting in New Haven, 9-6, as the Black and Gold held Yale scoreless in the final 20:39 of the contest. Goals from Cam Ziegler (Carlsbad, Calif.), Tom Kennedy (Farmingdale, N.Y.) and Tom Forsberg turned a 6-6 tie into a 9-6 Bryant win.
BRYANT vs. THE IVY LEAGUE
The Bulldogs have faced five of the seven Ivy League members that sponsor men's lacrosse with a 9-12 record. Bryant went 1-1 against the Ivy League last season with a win over Yale and loss to Brown.
LAST TIME OUT: BOSTON UNIVERSITY 8, BRYANT 7 (OT)
Senior Cam Ziegler's second goal of the night put Bryant up 7-6 late in the fourth quarter, but Boston University tied the game in the closing minutes and scored the game-winner 27 seconds into overtime Tuesday in Smthfield.
KENNEDY NAMED TO TEWAARATON, SENIOR CLASS AWARD WATCH LISTS
Senior Tom Kennedy was named to the watch lists for the Tewaaraton Award and Senior CLASS Award Thursday. Kennedy is coming off a junior season in which he tallied 24 goals, 15 assists and 25 ground balls on his way to first-team All-NEC honors. Kennedy has eight goals and five assists through five games in 2018.
MASSA EXCELLENT FROM THE X
Graduate student Kenny Massa (Huntington, N.Y.) has recorded a .675 face-off percentage and 10.80 ground balls per game over the first four games of the year. The ground ball average is good for third nationally while the face-off percentage ranks fifth.
BALANCING ACT
Nine different Bulldogs have recorded a multi-goal game in Bryant's first five contests of the year. The Black and Gold had five players with two or more goals against Manhattan (2/3), Bucknell (2/10) and Hartford (2/24), with freshman Marc O'Rourke (Hingham, Mass.) accomplishing the feat in all three games.
CUP OF COFFEY
Sophomore Zach Coffey (West Newbury, Mass.) recorded two caused turnovers in three of the Bulldogs' first five games of 2018 and scored his first two collegiate goals in the game against Bucknell (2/10). Coffey has two goals, 11 ground balls and seven caused turnovers through four games.
A(SSIST) FROM Z(IEGLER)
Senior Cam Ziegler ranks 36th nationally through Tuesday with 1.80 assists per game. Ziegler recorded a career-high five assists against Bucknell (2/10).
BULLDOGS AMONG NEW ENGLAND'S BEST
Bryant has won 99 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' .604 winning percentage over those 10 seasons ranks third in New England behind Yale (.674) and Brown (.624).
353 AND COUNTING
Head coach Mike Pressler ranks sixth among active NCAA coaches in all divisions with 353 career victories. Of those 353, 124 have come while leading the Bulldogs since 2007.
WINNING WAYS
The Bulldogs have reached double-digit wins 14 times in the program's first 18 seasons. Bryant has recorded 10 or more wins in eight of head coach Mike Pressler's first 11 seasons, including six of nine at the Division I level.
CONFERENCE CALL
Bryant has a 33-10 record in NEC games since the conference began sponsoring men's lacrosse in 2010. The 33 wins are the most by any conference team - eight more than Robert Morris - and the .767 winning percentage is the best of the five teams that have been NEC members since the conference's formation.
NEXT UP: DREXEL
Bryant closes out a three-game homestand Saturday, March 10, when the Bulldogs host Drexel. The 1 p.m. start at the Bryant Track & Turf Complex can be seen on NEC Front Row.
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.
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