Bulldogs climb over Mountaineers, 17-7, Friday in Emmitsburg

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University women's lacrosse team began Northeast Conference play with an aggressive mindset, hurdling over Mount St. Mary's, 17-7, on the road Friday behind six point getters.

Freshman Jess DeMeo (Mount Sinai, N.Y.) reset her career high with six goals on seven shot attempts to pace the Bulldogs (7-3, 1-0 NEC). Junior defender Shannon Sullivan (Farmingdale, N.Y.) obliterated her previous career high of one point with five on four goals and an assist. Senior attack Nicole Britton (Monmouth Beach, N.J.) registered four points on a score and three helpers, while junior mid Ali Cardinal (Schenectady, N.Y.) netted two goals.

Kelly Maloney and Sammie Knapp led the Mountaineers (2-9. 0-1) with two goals apiece, as Nicole Lantuh, Molly Morris and Nicole Snyder all caged one in the loss. Steph Rurkowski was on her toes all afternoon, primarily the first half where the Bulldogs attempted 19 shots. She turned away eight of the 16 shots faced.

Both sophomore netminders split time, as Samantha Santeramo (Wantagh, N.Y.) played the first half and Daja Andrews (Lumberton, N.J.) protected the crease in the second. The two were not relied upon heavily with just one combined save, as the Mount fired only 12 shots all afternoon, eight being on target.

Bryant opened the game with the first seven goals of the contest to take a commanding 7-0 advantage just over 16 minutes into the initial frame. Britton got the visitors going on a free-position goal 2:16 in, and she was on the distributing end on three of the next six goals, four of which were scored by DeMeo and Sullivan (two apiece).

The Mountaineers finally put a tally on the scoreboard with 11 minutes to go in the first half on a man-up opportunity, as Maloney fired in the extra-man score. Snyder made it 7-2 2:30 later, but three-straight goals to close out the stanza, capped off by DeMeo's third gave Bryant a 10-2 halftime edge.

Santeramo did not make a save for the 20 minutes she was between the pipes, as she didn't have to thanks to a dominant offensive half from her teammates. The Bulldogs outshot the Mountaineers, 19-4, in the frame and picked up nine ground balls compared to just two from the hosts, thus creating more possessions. The Black and Gold also dominated the time of possession for most of the afternoon thanks to a 21-5 edge in the draw control department, five of which were won by Britton, who tied the all-time mark (145).

The Mountaineers netted three of the first four goals scored in the second half to cut the deficit to 11-5, but a Jasmine Perkins (West Babylon, N.Y.) unassisted score with 19:40 to go in the stanza initiated a 6-0 run over 13 minute stretch. DeMeo and Sullivan, like the first half, fired in two goals each during the sequence, giving Bryant its largest lead of the contest, 17-5, with under five to play.

Knapp and Morris were able to get a pair of goals in the last 4:45, but it was too little too late, as the Bulldogs closed the door on their fifth-straight victory and fourth-straight conference-opening win. 

The six goals from DeMeo are the second-most by a Bulldog freshman in program history. 

The Bulldogs won't have much time to relish in their victory before taking the field again. They play at Wagner in a rematch of the 2015 NEC Championship game, Sunday at 1:00 p.m.