Photo by Gretchen McMahon Photography
Photo by Gretchen McMahon Photography

Bryant faces Brown Tuesday on NESNplus in final tune-up for NEC tournament

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University men's lacrosse team closes out the regular season with a non-conference contest Tuesday at in-state foe Brown. The Bulldogs and Bears will square off at 7 p.m. on NESNplus and the Ivy League Network.

Bryant has the bye in the final weekend of NEC play with a 5-1 record in conference play after Saturday's Senior Day win over Hobart. The Bulldogs are 0-1 in midweek games this season with an overtime home defeat to Boston University Feb. 27. Bryant's March 13 game at Siena was canceled due to snow.

THE PARTICULARS
Opponent: Brown
Location: Stevenson-Pincince Field (Providence, R.I.)
Game Time:
 Tuesday, April 24 – 7 p.m.
Watch Live: NESNplus, Ivy League Network (Mike Mancuso, Mike Rubin)
NESNplus Channel Finder: Click HERE
Live Stats:
BrownBears.com

SCOUTING THE BEARS
Brown is 5-7 overall and 2-3 in the Ivy League after a 19-5 loss at Cornell Saturday. The Bears enter the week 27th in the RPI with wins over Penn, Villanova, Princeton and Stony Brook, but have allowed 19.3 goals per game over their last three contests. 

Michael Panepinto (22) and Luke McCaleb (21) have led a balanced attack in which five Bears have scored 15 or more goals, while McCaleb has a team-high 40 points. Phil Goss has recorded a .537 save percentage and 12.40 goals-against average while playing all but 34 of Brown's minutes in the cage.

THE SERIES
Brown holds a 6-3 advantage in the Division I series after a 14-12 Bears win at the Conaty Indoor Athletic Center last season. Cam Ziegler (Carlsbad, Calif.) scored four goals and Kyle Cornell (Darien, Conn.) added five assists in last year's game in Smithfield. 

Each of the last eight meetings have been decided by two goals or less, while the road team has won five of the last six matchups between the teams.

LAST TIME OUT: BRYANT 13, HOBART 8
Five Bulldogs scored two goals each as Bryant picked up a 13-8 win over Hobart Saturday on Senior Day. Junior Kevin Quigley (Fairfax Station, Va.), redshirt-sophomore Jake Buonaiuto (Miller Place, N.Y.) and sophomore Trevor Weingarten (Allendale, N.J.) each added an assist to their two-goal afternoons. 

PROGRAM-RECORD THREE BULLDOGS DRAFTED WEDNESDAY
A program and NEC-record three Bulldogs - senior Tom Kennedy (Farmingdale, N.Y.), graduate student Kenny Massa (Huntington, N.Y.) and senior Anthony Johnson (Fairfield, Conn.) - were selected in Wednesday's Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft. Kennedy was chosen by the Boston Cannons in the third round (26th pick), Massa was selected by the Ohio Machine in the fourth round (31st pick) and Johnson was picked by Boston in the seventh round (55th pick). 

BULLDOGS AMONG NEW ENGLAND'S BEST
Bryant has won 104 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' .605 winning percentage over those 10 seasons ranks third in New England behind Yale (.689) and Brown (.609). A win Tuesday would put Bryant ahead of Brown in winning percentage. 

MASSA ADDS TO MANTEL
Graduate student Kenny Massa has earned two NEC Player of the Week honors in 2018 and been named to the USILA Team of the Week twice. Massa ranks second in the nation in ground balls per game (11.46) and fifth in face-off percentage (.685) this season. 

TRIO RISING IN PROGRAM RECORD BOOK
Senior Cam Ziegler's 83 career goals and 128 career points are both tied for ninth in program history. Peter McMahon scored 83 goals from 2010-13, while Andrew Serge tallied 128 points from 2002-05. 

Graduate student Chas South (Ridgefield, Conn.) and senior Anthony Johnson are both into the top 10 in program history in caused turnovers, with South fifth at 65 and Johnson seventh at 55.

KENNEDY TABBED AS SENIOR CLASS AWARD FINALIST
Senior Tom Kennedy was selected as one of 10 finalists nationally for the Senior CLASS Award, an honor given for accomplishments both on and off the field. Three of the 10 finalists hail from the NEC, with the other two coming from Saint Joseph's. 

KENNEDY NAMED TO TEWAARATON WATCH LIST
Senior Tom Kennedy was one of 50 players nationally named to the watch list for the Tewaaraton Award March 1. Kennedy has 15 goals, 10 assists and 25 ground balls in 2018. 

CUP OF COFFEY
Sophomore Zach Coffey (West Newbury, Mass.) has recorded two caused turnovers in a game three times in 2018 and scored his first two collegiate goals in the game against Bucknell Feb. 10. Coffey has four goals, two assists, 17 ground balls and a team-high 10 caused turnovers in 2018. 

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
Redshirt-sophomore Jake Buonaiuto ranks second in the NEC and 24th nationally with five man-up goals in 2018. Freshman Marc O'Rourke (Hingham, Mass.) is fifth in the conference with four. 

358 AND COUNTING
Head coach Mike Pressler ranks sixth among active NCAA coaches in all divisions with 358 career victories. Of those 358, 129 have come while leading the Bulldogs since 2007.

NEXT UP: NEC SEMIFINALS
Bryant will play Thursday, May 3, in the Northeast Conference semifinals. The opponent and location will be determined by Saturday's NEC games. 

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