Bulldogs travel to Wagner and host Saint Francis U. in final quick turnaround of the season

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – With just three games remaining sitting tied for third in the Northeast Conference, the Bryant University women's soccer team plays a pair of key weekend matches, traveling to Wagner College Friday at 7:00 p.m. and hosting Saint Francis U. Sunday at 3:00 p.m. on Senior Day.

The Bulldogs (7-8, 3-2) are 3-2-2 against The Seahawks (2-12, 1-3) and just 2-5 against the Red Flash (5-10, 3-1). The only two losses to Wagner came in double overtime and all but one of the victories were one-goal decisions. Bryant has conceded at least three goals in four of its losses to Saint Francis U., and only one game in the series was not a shutout.

The Bulldogs are tied with league-leading Central Connecticut for the most overall wins this year, but dropped an opportunity to make it eight wins last time out. Bryant fell in this past weekend's finale against Fairleigh Dickinson, 2-1. After falling behind by two scores in the first half, the Bulldogs battled back to cut the deficit to a single tally just six minutes into the second frame on a Kianna Woods (Stafford Springs, Conn.) score from just inside the box. Senior classmate Abigail Smith (Kingston, N.H.) set up the score with a through ball from the left wing. But Bryant could not complete the comeback and has now lost all eight games in which it has allowed a goal this year.

When they attain leads they tend to keep them, and the Bulldogs will hope that they can generate early goals this weekend. Junior Haley Reddish (Natick, Mass.) had a strong weekend, posting three points in a 2-0 victory over Mount St. Mary's last Friday with the game's first goal and an assist in the second half, as she leads the team with nine points. Woods follows with eight points on four scores all coming over the last five games and sophomore Alison Guilmette (Coventry, R.I.) has six points.

Scouting the Seahawks

Wagner has had its share of struggles this season on both the defensive and offensive end, but is just two games back of a playoff spot. The offense is paced by senior midfielders Megan Fritz with 11 points on five goals and an assist and Sydney McNutt with eight points on four scores.

Besides the tandem, Wagner has just four other players that have tallied points, three of whom have scored and one who has two assists. The Seahawks have also seen their offense go off in the two wins, as 10 of the 12 goals scored this season came in the two victories. They have been held scoreless in 10 of the losses.

The Seahawks rank eighth in the league with a 2.478 goals-against average, as three different goalies have seen time. Junior Jessica Wilm and sophomore Katie Viscardi have each played eight games. Wilm has allowed 15 goals and made 26 stops, while Viscardi has given up 19 goals and made 29 saves.

Scouting the Red Flash

Saint Francis U. is tied with the Bulldogs for third in the league standings and is peaking at the right time, winning three straight by a final of 2-0. The offense is very balanced and leads the NEC in shots and shots on goal per game, while sitting third in assists per game.

Sophomore mid Sara Suler leads the team with 10 points on three goals and four assists, followed by junior Gabi Morales with eight points on three goals and two assists. Morales leads the NEC with 3.00 shots per game and 2.14 shots on goal per game. Four other Red Flash players have tallied four points on the season and one has three.

As well as the offense has played, sophomore keeper Julia Hernan has been even better. She sits third in the league with 6.00 saves per game, has played every single minute between the posts and boasts a 0.763 save percentage. The backline is relatively young, but does not lack in experience. Sophomore Jessica Keller made 17 starts as a freshman and classmate Shannon McGinnis made the NEC All-Rookie Team and All-NEC Second Team in 2015.

Friday's match at Wagner begins at 7:00 p.m. and can followed along via livestats on WagnerAthletics.com or seen live on NECFrontRow.com. Sunday's Senior Day match can be followed along via livestats on BryantBulldogs.com, Twitter @BryantGameday or seen live on NECFrontRow.com.