Rookie goals propel team to year's first 'W'

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Freshmen did all the scoring for the Bryant University women's lacrosse team Monday night to kick off the team's West Coast Spring Break on the right foot, as the Bulldogs earned their first win of the 2011 season with a 9-7 victory over Fresno State.

Reigning Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week Katherine Keckeisen (Danbury, Conn.) recorded a hat trick for the second-straight contest and fellow frosh Lisa Vendel (Sandy Hook, Conn.) chipped in three goals of her own to pace the Bulldogs to the win, while freshman Haley Bloom (Hauppauge, N.Y.) added a game-best four points with a goal and three helpers on the outing.

But it was first-year attacker Kimberley Sniffen (Redding, Conn.) who got the Bulldogs (1-3) started in the affair, scoring an unassisted tally less than two minutes into the opening frame for her first of two scores and a 1-0 Bryant edge.

Fresno State (0-4) evened the score soon after, before Bloom regained the lead for the visitors on a free position shot at the 22:22 mark. It was the first of three-straight Bulldog tallies to put the Black and Gold up, 4-1.

But the home side would respond with three of their own spanning the two halves, and while Bryant took a two-goal edge into the halftime break, 4-2, it was Fresno State who would net the first two scores of the second session to knot the game at 4-4.

Still, the Bulldogs would never allow the home team to take over the lead, scoring five goals in the final 14 minutes while holding Fresno State to just three more for the 9-7 final.

Off a feed from Bloom, Keckeisen would score the eventual game winner with 4:44 to play in the contest, and the pair repeated the play with 1:39 on the clock to send home an insurance goal for the visiting Black and Gold.

On the day, junior captain Lauren Filippone (West Babylon, N.Y.) made four stops for the win, while her counterpart turned away nine Bryant shots. Fresno State took the narrow 22-21 edge in shots on the night and took a 19-13 win in the ground ball battle.

The Bulldogs return to the field to wrap up California action against UC Davis on Friday, March 11 at 6 p.m. (3 p.m. PST).