Lax takes second in NEC with 18-8 win
Bulldogs put exclamation point on season with 18-8 win at LIU in season finale, finish second in NEC
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Junior Lauren Sheridan (Bethpage, N.Y.) scored four goals while freshmen Katherine Keckeisen (Danbury, Conn.) and Haley Bloom (Hauppauge, N.Y.) each tallied three goals to lead the Bryant University women's lacrosse team to an 18-8 win over Long Island in Saturday's regular-season finale, earning the Bulldogs a second-place finish in the Northeast Conference standings.
The win puts an exclamation point on a remarkable 2011 season that saw Bryant (8-8, 7-2 NEC) finish the year on a five-game winning streak and record wins in seven of its last eight contests in only the team's third year competing at the Division I level.
Bryant is not eligible for postseason play until completion of the four-year transition to Division I (2013), but already the foundation is set for good things to come in the near future for the women's lacrosse program. Coming off a three-win season a year ago, Bryant took advantage of strong veteran leadership and the play of a standout freshman class to finish the 2011 campaign with an 8-8 overall record and incredible 7-2 mark in the NEC. Had Bryant been eligible this season, the team would have clinched the three seed in the conference tournament with the victory.
In the season finale Saturday in Brooklyn, N.Y., five freshmen found their way onto the score sheet with Keckeisen, Bloom, Kimberley Sniffen (Redding, Conn.), Lisa Vendel (Sandy Hook, Conn.) and Lindsay Gilfeather (Pleasantville, N.Y.) all scoring at least one goal against the Blackbirds (1-15, 1-8).
The Bulldogs never trailed in the contest, as Sheridan got things rolling with a free position goal just three minutes into the game while Keckeisen followed with back-to-back goals to stake Bryant to a 3-0 lead.
LIU would pull to within a goal, 4-3, midway through the first half, but a free position goal from Bloom and two more by Sheridan just over two minutes apart would make it 6-3, and the Bulldogs never looked back.
Bryant led, 11-6, at the half and outscored Long Island, 7-2, in the second frame. Lauren Filippone (West Babylon, N.Y.) got the win in goal for the Bulldogs, as the junior made seven stops on the afternoon before giving way to freshman Brianna Watt (Babylon, N.Y.) in the final 10 minutes. Sophomore Nicole Rettinger (Dix Hills, N.Y.) forced a game-high three turnovers, while Filippone picked up a game-high six ground balls.
Bryant will graduate only one senior this season, midfielder Meaghan Delaney (Centerville, Mass.). Keckeisen finishes the season with a team-best 28 goals while Bloom posted a squad-high 41 points off 27 goals and a team-best 14 assists in just her first year with the Bulldogs. Sheridan (22g, 3a), Vendel (21g, 4a) and junior Mary Green (Merrick, N.Y.) (15g, 7a) round out the top five scorers in 2011.