Bryant knocks off No. 13 Robert Morris to stay unbeaten in NEC play

MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – The Bryant University men's lacrosse team picked up its first victory over a nationally ranked opponent in 2018 with a 10-7 win over No. 13 Robert Morris Friday night at Joe Walton Stadium.

Senior Kyle Cornell (Darien, Conn.) and redshirt-sophomore Jake Buonaiuto (Miller Place, N.Y.) scored two goals each for the Bulldogs, who defeated their first ranked opponent since a victory over No. 19 Monmouth in the NCAA Opening Round last season. The Black and Gold sit atop the NEC standings with a 3-0 mark at the halfway point of their conference slate.

GAME INFORMATION
Bryant 10, No. 13 Robert Morris 7
Records: Bryant (5-5, 2-0 NEC), Robert Morris (6-3, 2-1 NEC)
Location: Joe Walton Stadium (Moon Township, Pa.)

COACH PRESSLER'S COMMENTS
"The pace of the game favored us over Robert Morris. We cut the transition game down a bit. Kenny [Massa] got going at the X. It was a single-digit game, which they don't want; they want to get out in front, run and gun, and get it into the teens. I thought it was a complete second half for us, especially on the road, at both ends of the ball, at the face-off X, and especially in the goal. We made the saves, we won the face-offs, we made some smart plays on offense and we valued the ball. It was a great team win against the best Robert Morris team I've seen in a long time."

"The goals at the end of the first half gave us great confidence. We kind of gave two away, they scored man-up – we didn't want to foul those guys because they're tremendous at the EMO – but starting the game over in the second half 0-0 was huge for us on the road."

"Our two workhorses in the midfield, Kyle Cornell and Tom Kennedy – the numbers don't necessarily show it offensively, but all the things they do defensively and between the lines were key for us tonight. They played like two great captains tonight. We allowed two goals in the second half. I couldn't have been more pleased."

KEY MOMENTS

• In a scenario akin to last week's win at Sacred Heart, Bryant trailed 5-3 in the second quarter before goals from Cornell and junior Kevin Quigley (Fairfax Station, Va.) tied the game heading to the half.
• The game was knotted at six before three straight Bryant tallies, from Cornell, Buonaiuto and senior Cam Ziegler (Carlsbad, Calif.) pushed the advantage to a 9-6 lead with 13:15 to go in the contest.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Robert Morris scored the first two goals of the contest before Buonaiuto got Bryant on the board with 2:44 remaining in the opening quarter. The Colonials led 2-1 through 15 minutes.
• Sophomore Jake Fiske (Poway, Calif.) tied the game with 13:33 to go in the second quarter, but Robert Morris answered 15 seconds later to gain a 3-2 lead. Junior Matt Heldberg (Kings Park, N.Y.) brought the game even at three with 8:33 remaining in the half.
• Robert Morris pushed the lead to 5-3 before goals from Cornell and Quigley tied the game at five heading into the locker room.
• Sophomore Trevor Weingarten (Allendale, N.J.) gave Bryant its first lead of the night with 13:06 remaining in the third quarter, picking up a ground ball and putting it in the cage to open the second-half scoring.
• RMU re-tied the game before a man-up goal from Cornell gave Bryant a 7-6 lead with 5:33 remaining in the third quarter. Goals from Buonaiuto and senior Cam Ziegler (Carlsbad, Calif.) extended the advantage to 9-6 with 13:15 remaining.
• A man-up goal for the Colonials cut the Bryant cushion to 9-7 with 9:11 to go before freshman Marc O'Rourke (Hingham, Mass.) sealed the final margin with six seconds remaining.

STATS

• Buonaiuto tallied two goals and an assist along with two ground balls.
• Cornell recorded two goals and two ground balls.
• O'Rourke and Ziegler each had a goal and two assists.
• Junior Will Hamernick (Darien, Conn.) notched two caused turnovers and two ground balls.
• Quigley, Weingarten and senior Tom Kennedy (Farmingdale, N.Y.) each recorded three ground balls.
• Graduate student Kenny Massa (Huntington, N.Y.) went 14-of-21 at the face-off X with 11 ground balls.
• Junior Kevin Beimfohr (Mountain Lakes, N.J.) made eight saves for a .533 save percentage.
• Fiske scored for the third-straight game and added two ground balls.
• Bryant outshot Robert Morris, 29-25.
• The Bulldogs held a 38-20 advantage in ground balls.

GAME NOTES

• Bryant improves to 9-2 all-time against Robert Morris.
• The Bulldogs are 3-0 in the NEC for the first time since 2013.
• Bryant had eight different goal scorers in the win.
• Cornell had his second consecutive multi-goal game.
• Massa surpassed his 2017 ground ball total of 120 in just his 10^th game of the year. The graduate student from Long Island has 121 in 2018.

UP NEXT
Bryant returns home to host Wagner Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Bryant Track & Turf Complex.

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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