Bulldogs fall to Army, 2-1

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Devin Perlee scored a pair of goals less than 10 minutes apart, propelling Army to a 2-1 victory over the Bryant University men's soccer team on Tuesday afternoon at Bulldog Stadium.  The Black Knights improve to 3-5 on the season, while the Bulldogs move to 0-4-1.

The Black and Gold carried a one-goal lead late into the second half before Perlee, a freshman midfielder from South Orange, N.J., reeled off two goals in an eight-minute span.  The first marker came at 78:42, when Kyle Golonski served up a shot from outside the box, finding a leaping Perlee who headed it in for the goal in the upper-right corner.  Sophomore netminder George Spanos (Garden City, N.Y.) got a piece of the ball, but not enough to keep it from rolling into the back of the net.

Then in the 87^th minute, Trent Brown found Perlee inside the box, where he turned and fired a high shot that avoided a diving Spanos, capping the come-from-behind victory over the Black Knights and keeping the Bulldogs winless on the season.

The loss was especially tough to swallow after junior midfielder Ryan Stone (Wakefield, R.I. ) put the home team in front during the first half.  With just under six minutes to go in the stanza, senior captain Nicholas Parisi (Holbrook, N.Y.) served up a gorgeous ball into the penalty box off a set piece, where Stone rushed in unaccounted for to head home his first strike of the season into the upper right corner.

The Bulldogs took that lead into the locker room after posting eight shots in the first period over Army's seven.  Both teams had chances in the first, as Spanos turned aside three shots on target while Army goalkeeper John Marinelli amassed two.  Both keepers finished the game with an even six saves, while Bryant finished with contest with a 15-13 edge in total shots.

Rookie forward Ryan Kalan (East Norwich, N.Y.) strung together three shots, and nearly doubled Bryant's lead after the ball bounced between himself and two Army defenders in the attacking third, pitting him one-on-one against Marinelli.  But the keeper rushed in and dove at the ball, getting just enough of it to stop the initial shot.  Kalan came up with a rebound seconds later, but Marinelli had already repositioned himself enough to make a second save on the rush.

Both teams combined for 45 fouls, as has been characteristic of Bryant's physical play early this season.  The Black and Gold finished with a 25-19 edge in fouls, while also posting a 7-5 advantage in corner kicks attempted. 

Next up, Bryant will hit the road for another three-game trip out of the Ocean State, first paying a visit to New York City on Sunday, Sept. 25, where the squad will meet Manhattan College for a morning non-league battle.  Game time is set for 10 a.m.

For continuing coverage of Bryant men's soccer, check back at www.bryantbulldogs.com, and follow the Bulldogs on Twitter @BryantAthletics.