Vendel scores four, Bulldogs fall in Ocean State Cup

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Senior midfielder Lisa Vendel (Sandy Hook, Conn.) picked up her fourth hat trick of the season in the first five minutes of the game and added one more late in the second to lead the Bryant University women's lacrosse team, but the Bulldogs couldn't overcome a potent Brown offense, dropping the fifth-annual Ocean State Cup, 15-7, Tuesday afternoon at home.

Brown (8-2) got the scoring started 68 seconds into the game, but the Bulldogs (6-3) quickly took over the first five minutes, as Vendel got the goal back and then some. The senior middie tied the game at 1-1 just 42 ticks later and would score twice more in the opening five minutes, a run interrupted only by a marker from senior attack Haley Bloom (Hauppauge, N.Y.).

The four-goal run gave the Bulldogs a 4-1 advantage early, but while it would take the Bears the next 10 minutes, Tuesday's visitors came back to tie the game on the first of back-to-back Bre Hudgins goals with just under 15 to play. Hudgins's second followed less than two minutes later to complete Brown's own four-goal stretch for a 5-4 edge.

Sophomore Nicole Britton (Monmouth Beach, N.J.) got on the board for the Black and Gold with 12:53 to go in the frame in unassisted fashion to draw the game even once again at 5-5, but Brown would take back over on offense, scoring four more over a six-minute span to stretch the lead to 9-5.

With six to go, sophomore attack Lauren Descalzo (Hauppauge, N.Y.) would gather the loose ball after a Brown turnover off the draw and streak down for a one-on-one with Bears goalie Kellie Roddy, burying a shot into side netting to close the gap to 9-6. But Janie Gion would renew Brown's four-score lead with six seconds to go before the halftime break, netting her fifth goal of the day.

The teams would open the second with more than 10 minutes of scoreless action before Hudgins finally broke through for the Bears with 18:24 left on the clock. Three more Brown goals would follow to bring the clock down inside the final 10 minutes with the Bulldogs facing a 14-6 hole.

Vendel wrapped up the Bulldog scoring with 5:37 to play with her fourth score of the day, but Bears defender Mollie Lane would bring the margin back to eight before the final whistle, tacking on her first of the year with less than a second remaining for the 15-7 final.

On the afternoon, Brown outshot Bryant, 32-15, and edged the Bulldogs on ground balls, 16-15. Despite boasting one of the area's top players on the draw control, the Bears won that battle by only three, 13-10, with Bre Hudgins and Grace Healy pulling in four apiece. Vendel paced the game with five ground balls, while Bryant goalie Brianna Watt (Babylon, N.Y.) added four of her own to complement a 10-save effort. Roddy made seven stops for the visitors in the victory.

The Bulldogs now turn their attention to Northeast Conference play for the remainder of the season, opening the league slate Friday on the road at Wagner College (3:00 p.m.).