HAWKS PULL AWAY FROM BULLDOGS, BRYANT DROPS 14-8 ROAD TILT FRIDAY
April 09, 2010
HAWKS PULL AWAY FROM BULLDOGS, BRYANT DROPS 14-8 ROAD TILT
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Sophomore leading scorer Lauren Sheridan (Bethpage, N.Y.) tied a career high with her six-point, four-goal performance Friday afternoon against Monmouth, but it wasn’t enough to get the Bryant University women’s lacrosse team a win as the Bulldogs fell, 14-8, to the Hawks in West Long Branch, N.J.
The Bulldogs (2-11, 2-4 Northeast Conference) kept the game tight through the opening minutes of the contest before allowing Monmouth (6-8, 4-2) to open up a three-goal lead, 5-2. The Hawks found themselves up two scores early before a Sheridan tally cut the home side’s lead in half, 2-1, with 22:36 to go in the first half.
Another Monmouth goal triggered a response from senior Eliza DeMarseilles (Branford, Conn.), who notched Bryant’s second goal 16 seconds later to keep the visiting Bulldogs within one.
But the home team would score the next four goals to open up a 7-2 advantage with 15 minutes still to play. A score from sophomore Kayla Manzi (Agawam, Mass.) began to close the gap with 11:50 on the clock, but it took Monmouth’s Molly O’Brien less than a minute to get the goal back on a free position shot with 11:00 to go, the first of back-to-back Hawk tallies that moved the score to 9-3.
The Bulldogs cut their deficit to four, 9-5, with consecutive goals from Sheridan with less than three minutes remaining before the halftime break – the first a free position tally at the 2:33 mark and the second an unassisted score 11 seconds later – and that score would stick as the teams headed into the intermission.
Sophomore Antoinette Lombardi (Wallingford, Conn.) got the Bulldogs back on the board just 1:04 into the second frame with a quick tally off a Monmouth turnover, cutting the Hawks’ lead to just three, but it would be short lived.
Over the next 13 minutes, Monmouth would up double its lead, scoring three-straight goals for a 12-6 advantage with 16:06 to play in regulation.
But after DeMarseilles recorded her second tally of the afternoon at the 13:32 mark, both sides would go quiet over the next eight-plus minutes. Ali Pollock would break the silence for the Hawks with just over five minutes to play though, with Perry Dewitt scoring the home team’s final tally of the day with 2:23 to go for a 14-7 score.
Sheridan would cap off her six-point performance with a fourth and final score with 1:36 on the clock, but that was as close as the Bulldogs would get before the final whistled sounded to signal the 14-8 final.
Monmouth outshot the Black and Gold, 38-18, on the day and picked up 35 ground balls to Bryant’s 24. Bulldog sophomore netminder Lauren Filippone (West Babylon, N.Y.) had another strong performance between the pipes, registering 15 saves, 10 of them coming in the second half. Hawk goalie Kirby Mundorf recorded six stops.
Shawn Evans and Pollock each collected a trio of goals for the home side while Pollock also added two helpers for a team-best five points. DeMarseilles added an assist on her two-goal day while Sheridan chipped in a pair of dishes for the Bulldogs.
Bryant has just one day off before returning to Northeast Conference play as the Bulldogs travel to Mount St. Mary’s for a 1 p.m. Sunday matchup.