Boston University visits Bryant for Tuesday matinee
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University men's lacrosse team plays its final February home game of 2020 when Boston University visits Beirne Stadium for a Tuesday matinee.
The Bulldogs and Terriers meet in a February midweek for the fourth consecutive season and for the first time at Beirne Stadium.
The Particulars
Opponent: Boston University
Location: Beirne Stadium (Smithfield, R.I.)
Date and Time: Tuesday, Feb. 18 – 3 p.m.
Tickets: Tuesday
Watch: NEC Front Row (Tristan Hobbes)
Live Stats: Presto Sports
Game Notes: Bryant
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | #GoBryant | #NECMLax
SCOUTING THE TERRIERS
BU is 1-2 on the year after a 13-5 victory Saturday at UMass Lowell. It was a relative offensive eruption for the Terriers, who had been held to five goals by Providence and four against Ohio State in their first two contests of 2020.
Vince D'Alto tallied three goals and two assists against UMass Lowell and is one of three Terriers tied with a team-high four goals. Sean Christman has recorded a .672 mark on face-offs. BU is 4-for-10 on the man-up through its first three games, including a 3-for-5 showing Saturday in Lowell.
THE SERIES
The Terriers have won all three meetings in the series history, including a 14-9 victory last year in Boston.
The last meeting in Smithfield was in 2018 at the Bryant Track & Turf Complex, as the teams were tied on seven different occasions during the contest before BU captured a road win in overtime.
LAST TIME OUT: PROVIDENCE 16, BRYANT 9
Redshirt-senior Jake Buonaiuto (Miller Place, N.Y.) notched four goals for the second consecutive game, but a first-half offensive surge from Providence proved too much to overcome Saturday. Junior Marc O'Rourke (Hingham, Mass.) and redshirt-freshman Logan McGovern (Darien, Conn.) added four points each.
JAKE STARTS 2020 STRONG
Buonaiuto has scored four goals in each of his first two games, eclipsing his goal (3) and point (6) totals from 2019.
Buonaiuto, who had one career four-goal game entering the year, is the first Bulldog with back-to-back games of four or more goals since Marc O'Rourke tallied six and five in the first two conference games of the 2018 season.
MR. CONSISTENT
O'Rourke has recorded 95 points over his last 26 games with at least one point in every game - a streak that ranked 25th nationally entering Saturday.
O'Rourke's 108 career points rank eighth in Bryant's Division I history, as the junior passed Dan Sipperly and current assistant coach Travis Harrington in the first two games of 2020. His 68th career goal Saturday moved him past Harrington for ninth in Bryant's D1 era, while his 40th assist tied him with Colin Dunster for eighth.
THE NEW GUYS
Sophomore CJ Sweitzer (Hatfield, Pa.) and freshman Kevin Groeninger (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) scored their first career goals in the opener against Bucknell. The duo was joined by freshman Matt Prochaska (Danville, Calif.) in making their collegiate debuts in the contest.
Freshmen Will Ronan (Rochester Hills, Mich.) and Brody Rule (Lone Tree, Colo.) made their collegiate debuts Sunday at Providence.
ATTACK IS BACK
The Bulldogs return 93.3% of their total assists from 2019, which ranks third in the nation. Bryant is one of 10 teams to bring back 85% of its goals and 85% of its assists from last year.
AMERICA'S TEAM
The 2020 Bryant roster features student-athletes from 18 states, including six outside the Eastern Time Zone. The 18 states represented rank sixth in the nation.
UP NEXT: DARTMOUTH
Bryant will make its first trip to the Granite State since 2009 when the Bulldogs face Dartmouth Saturday at noon.
Tickets for the 2020 Bryant University men's lacrosse season are available HERE.
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