Bulldogs close out non-conference slate at Hartwick Saturday at 6:00 p.m.

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Riding the momentum of its first victory of the year, the Bryant University men's soccer team will look to end the non-conference portion of the schedule on a high note when it travels to Hartwick for a 6:00 p.m. start on Saturday.

Although the series is short, the Bulldogs (1-7) have owned the Hawks (5-1-2) in the only meetings that came in each of the last two seasons. Saturday's match will be the first played away from Smithfield, as Bryant outscored Hartwick, 6-3, in the first two meetings.

The Bulldogs earned their first win of the year and their first victory over the University of Rhode Island on Tuesday afternoon. They struck first and attained their first lead of the season in the first half on a Jake Lamar (New Haven, Conn.) header from inside the box. The senior defender received a free kick sent into the Rams' box by freshman George Gill (Cork, Munster, Ireland). After the Rams knotted things up just three minutes later, senior Curtis Orth (Ancaster, Ont.) lined up for another Bryant free kick 12 minutes into the second half. He bent it to the upper right corner for a sensational goal, and his team held on.

Lamar now leads the team with three points this season on a goal and an assist, while Gill is tied for second along with Orth and three others with two points. Senior Matt Guerriero (Pickering, Ont.) and junior Thomas Binder (Vienna, Austria) scored in Bryant's 2-1 win over Hartwick last year, while Lamar scored in his team's 4-2 triumph over the Hawks in 2014.

This year's version of Hartwick has been the best in the Sun Belt Conference. It leads the league in assists per game (1.75), points per game (5.75) which is 28th nationally, scoring offense (2.00) which is 24th in the country, shots on goal per game (7.13) which is good for 10th in the country and win-lost-tied percentage (0.750). The Hawks were perfect in September, posting a 4-0-2 record and are fresh off of a 2-1 victory over Vermont in double overtime on Tuesday.

The Hawks are led by their upper classmen, as senior mid Jamie O'Grady leads the team with eight points on three goals and two assists, despite playing in just three games. Classmate Mike Rood has seven points on three goals and an assist having played in seven games. Junior transfer Johnny McBeth and senior Jack Donaldson sit third on the team with six points each on three goals and a goal and four assists, respectively. Donaldson leads the conference in helpers and the unselfishness has been contagious on the team, as junior Marc Berry and freshman Cameron Paton round out a balanced attack with four points on a goal and two assists apiece.

Junior Nick Stewart (South Windsor, Conn.) has been stout in net in recent games and will look to stop a deep offense on Saturday. Although he has yet to post a clean sheet, he continues to lead the Northeast Conference and sits 15th nationally with 5.37 saves per game.        

The Hawks are predominantly made up of international players, as 18 members of the team hail from outside the United States. Nine come from Scotland, including sophomore keeper Lenny Wilson. The goalie has started six games and has allowed seven goals while making 15 saves and sits second in the Sun Belt Conference with a 1.080 goals-against average. The defense in front of Wilson is young and inexperienced, with just two players having made appearances in a Hawks uniform prior to this year. But senior Kit Tregear leads Hartwick's backline, having been named to the Sun Belt Conference First Team in 2015-16.

Saturday's contest begins at 6:00 p.m., can be followed along via livestats or seen live online at HartwickHawks.com.