Bryant defeats Brown 14-13 for Ocean State Cup

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Senior Jess DeMeo (Mount Sinai, N.Y) and junior Caitlin Breglia (Long Beach, N.Y.) scored three goals each to lead the attack and sophomore Giana Kapoosuzian (Merrick, N.Y.) made a save at the final horn as the Bryant University women's lacrosse team won the Ocean State Cup with a 14-13 victory over Brown Wednesday afternoon.

The victory was the first for Kapoosuzian in goal and the first for head coach Brianna Roche in Black & Gold.

GAME INFORMATION
Bryant 14, Brown 13
Records: Bryant (1-2), Brown (2-3)
Location: Stevenson-Pincince Field (Providence, R.I.)

COACH ROCHE'S COMMENTS

"I've got to commend my players today. They battled for the entire sixty minutes up until the last seconds to achieve the win against a very good team. It was mental toughness and team camaraderie that held us together until the final seconds. We need to move forward now, make some adjustments and keep this element in our next game."

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Breglia collected a ground ball off a free-position attempt and found freshman Emily Diaz (Selden, N.Y.) to even the game 1-1 2:30 into the contest.
• After Brown retook the lead, goals from Breglia and sophomore Abbi England (Longford Mills, Ontario) put Bryant ahead 3-2 with 21:31 to play in the first half. England's goal came on a Diaz pass from midfield.
• The Bears would even the game 3-3 before a goal from sophomore Natalie Langella (Northport, N.Y.) put the Bulldogs back on top with 18:20 remaining in the half.
• Brown scored the next four goals and Bryant answered with the next three from Breglia, senior Lauren Britton (Monmouth Beach, N.J.) and senior Jess DeMeo (Mount Sinai, N.Y.) to knot the game at seven with 2:56 to go before halftime.
• The Bears scored the first three goals out of the half to pull ahead 10-7 before goals from Breglia, Langella and England evened the game again with 20:12 left in the game.
• Brown went back in front 11-10 before junior Maggie Pressler (Smithfield, R.I.) assisted sophomore Devon Bolen (Queensbury, N.Y.) and Britton on goals 21 seconds apart to give Bryant a 12-11 lead with 13:58 to play.
• DeMeo added a pair of goals to extend the advantage to 14-11 with 10:29 remaining.
• Brown pulled within 14-13 with 34.7 seconds to play on a pair of free-position goals.
• The Bears won the ensuing draw and Kapoosuzian turned aside the Brown shot as time expired.

STATS

• Breglia finished with four points on three goals and an assist. 
• DeMeo also netted a hat trick for the Black and Gold. 
• Diaz posted two goals and an assist for three points. 
• Langella, Britton and England all finished with two goals. 
• Britton added a team-high nine draw controls. 
• Pressler finished with two assists. 
• Senior Jasmine Perkins (West Babylon, N.Y.) finished with three caused turnovers, three ground balls and a draw control. 
• Kapoosuzian finished with 11 saves. 
• Bryant led Brown in draw controls, 16-13.

GAME NOTES

• Bryant improves to 2-9 all-time against Brown.
• DeMeo now just needs 21 goals to break the all-time goals record at Bryant. 
• Diaz's three points were a career-high. Her two goals were also a career-high. 
• Kapoosuzian earned her first-career victory between the pipes.
• Perkins set career-highs in both caused turnovers and ground balls. 
• Langella matched her career-high with two goals. 
• Pressler matched her career-high with two assists. 

UP NEXT

Bryant plays its first game in Beirne Stadium Saturday when the Bulldogs host Niagara at 1 p.m. Tickets are available by clicking HERE and the game can be seen on NEC Front Row.

Season tickets for the 2019 campaign at Beirne Stadium are available by clicking HERE.

Follow Bryant Women's Lacrosse on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for an inside look at the program.