BULLDOGS DROP 2-1 HEARTBREAKER TO LA SALLE IN 2009 SEASON FINALE
October 31, 2009
BULLDOGS DROP 2-1 HEARTBREAKER TO LA SALLE IN 2009 SEASON FINALE
SMITHFIELD, R.I. - Senior goalkeeper Kundayi Mawema (Harare, Zimbabwe) put up 11 saves while sophomore Courtney Landi (Kingston, N.Y.) notched her eighth goal of the season but it wouldn't be enough to get past a tough La Salle side, as the Bryant University field hockey team fell in its 2009 season finale, 2-1, at the Bryant Turf Complex.
Rebecca Chylack netted the game winner with just 1:46 remaining in the contest off a penalty corner - the Explorers' 14th and final of the night - after Haley Froshour set her up with a good stop on the pass in from Beth Carey.
Carey got the scoring started early on in the contest, tallying the only goal of the first half in the eighth minute, a goal that found net to the right of Mawema after a feed from Neelam Kumar to give the Explorers (8-12) a 1-0 lead.
But the Bulldogs (7-11) played tough defense throughout the game and finally got a chance to even the score in the 47th minute, when a shot from junior Julie Kuchyt (Hatfield, Mass.) was deflected into the goal by Landi stationed in front of La Salle keeper Emma Ruth.
The Explorers outshot the home side, 18-12, on the day and didn't miss the target much, putting 13 of those shots on goal. Chylack led the game with seven shots, five finding their target. Landi put all three of her shots on net to pace the Bulldogs.
Ruth made five stops to keep Bryant from winning its fourth-straight contest, while the Bulldogs said goodbye to six seniors who played in their final game as Bulldogs.
Bryant finishes the year with a 7-11 mark, going 4-4 in Northeast Conference action in their second season of Division I play and first under head coach Shaunessy Saucier.