Bulldogs dominate and improve to 2-0 in the NEC with 2-0 win over Blackbirds Sunday

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University women's soccer team put together its most well-balanced performance of the season, as they completed a perfect opening weekend in Northeast Conference play by defeating LIU Brooklyn, 2-0, at home.

The Bulldogs (6-6, 2-0) owned the first half, as the Blackbirds (0-10, 0-2) did not possess the ball on Bryant's half of the field until the 26th minute. The hosts had 11 shots in the first half, five on target and six in the first eight minutes.

The eighth shot gave them an early lead just 8:12 into the game. Junior Haley Reddish (Natick, Mass.) broke into the middle of the field, shot low from just outside the box and the attempt was deflected away by the keeper, Erin Harbison. Senior Kianna Woods (Stafford Springs, Conn.) was right there for the rebound and she sent it into the wide-open net for her second goal in as many games.

Bryant continued to dominate the opening stanza, firing off five more shots and lining up for seven of the eight combined first-half corners. The Blackbirds attempted just one shot and took just one corner, coming in the 26th and 27th minute, respectively.

LIU finally sent a shot on frame six minutes into the second half on a 30-yard strike from Madison Gomez, but senior Kaylan Conrad (Avon, Conn.) was ready for the save, despite not having to evade much pressure in the first.

The Bulldogs took over from there and clawed for the insurance goal, which they found in the 60th minute. Sophomore Alison Guilmette (Coventry, R.I.) sent a cross from the left wing to the far right of the box where Reddish was waiting. She sent a low ball from 10 yards out towards the goal, it got deflected but Woods was in a perfect position once again for the rebound score from two yards out.

Bryant continued to press forward and nearly added two more goals over the final 30 minutes, but Aline Allman, who took over in net for LIU after halftime, made a pair of tremendous saves. Sophomore Alex Spangler (Acton, Mass.) took a corner from Guilmette off of the right foot and tried to send it to the right post from inside the box, but Allman extended her arms to her left as she moved right. Just two minutes later, Woods nearly buried the first hat trick in the program's Division I history from the close left wing, but Allman stayed on her line and denied the hard strike.

On a cross that was sent into the box in the 74th minute, senior Abigail Smith (Kingston, N.H.) got the side of her foot on the ball and lofted it the middle of the net, but Allman acrobatically dove to her right and punched the ball out of the zone. Despite the circus-like saves, the Bryant defense did not allow a quality look, as the two shots aimed at Conrad were from well outside the box and easily saved.

Woods and Reddish paced the Bulldogs with five shots apiece and a combined four on target. Reddish had a career-best two assists and Woods had a career-high two goals, as it marks just the ninth time a Bryant player has had a multi-goal game in the program's DI tenure. Spangler added two shots on goal, while junior Hannah Crofut (East Amherst, N.Y.) and freshman Caitlyn Linden (Newtown, Conn.) each had two of Bryant's 21 shots. Conrad improved to 6-6 on the year and earned her fifth shutout of the season.

Gomez led the Blackbirds with three shots and one on goal, as Brooke Logel had the other shot on goal. Herbison had four saves in the first half and Allman had five in the second, as the former picked up the loss.

The Bulldogs will look to continue the strong start to conference play when they take to the road for two-straight games, first battling Central Connecticut State on Friday, October 7 at 7:00 p.m.