Bulldogs host defending champ Blackbirds in Friday’s NEC opener

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University men's soccer team shifts gears to Northeast Conference action when it hosts the defending champs, LIU Brooklyn, Friday at 3:00 p.m.

The Bulldogs (1-8) have matched up evenly with the Blackbirds (6-3-1), posting a 3-4-1 record and a 3-3-1 mark as conference opponents, as five of the last seven decisions have been one-goal outcomes. The Bulldogs earned their first victory last week with a 2-1 win over Rhode Island, but dropped the non-conference finale at Hartwick, 3-0, on Saturday.

LIU Brooklyn just completed its best non-conference slate since 1992 with a 2-1 win over NJIT on Friday. But a handful of current Bulldogs have given the Blackbirds problems over the years. Senior Curtis Orth (Ancaster, Ont.) has tallied five shots with three on goal, junior Thomas Binder (Vienna, Austria) has fired off seven shots against LIU with two on target including the first goal of Bryant's 2-1 win in the 2014 meeting, and senior Jake Lamar (New Haven, Conn.) has four shots with three on net and a score in the 2013 matchup.

Current Blackbirds have also had success against Bryant, as sophomore mid Simen Hestnes scored the lone goal in the 1-0 win last year and classmate Rasmus Hansen had the assist. Senior mid Dennis Amvrosiatos scored in LIU's 2-1 loss in 2014 loss, but he has yet to tally a point this year, as LIU is led by four double-digit point getters.

Hestnes and Rasmus pace the quartet with 13 points apiece on four goals and five assists and three goals and an NEC-best seven helpers, respectively. Rasmus's seven assists are good for third in the country, and Hestnes is right behind with his five which rank him 19th nationally, as he leads the league with 1.44 points per game.

Junior midfielder Naeem Charles has 11 points on four goals and three assists, and the explosive attack is rounded out by sophomore forward Romario Guscott, who has 10 points on four goals and two assists.

As a unit, the Blackbirds are tops in the NEC and rank inside the top-15 in the country in assist per game (2.20), points per game (6.40) and scoring offense (2.10). The LIU offense is not just a four-headed monster, as freshman Giuseppe Barone has added seven points (2g, 3a) and sophomore defender Erik Wahlin has tallied six points on three scores.

As potent as the offense has been, the defense has been somewhat suspect this season, allowing the third-most goals per game in the league (1.75). Senior keeper Logan Keys has been the man between the posts for all three of the most recent matchups with the Bulldogs. He is 1-1-1 in those games with 22 saves and three goals allowed. He is averaging 4.22 saves per games this season to rank fourth in the conference with a 12.88 goals-against average and a 0.691 save percentage.

Junior Nick Stewart (South Windsor, Conn.) will look to match the efforts of Keys and try to stop the balanced Blackbird offense. He made 12 saves last week to bump his saves-per game average up slightly to 5.67, which ranks ninth in the nation and leads the NEC, though he has the third-lowest save percentage in the league (0.718).

Friday's opener begins at 3:00 p.m. from Bulldog Soccer Field, it can be followed along on Twitter @BryantGameday or seen live on NECFrontRow.com.