Field hockey announces 2016 fall schedule
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – With preseason on the horizon, head coach Shaunessy Saucier and the Bryant University field hockey staff are excited to announce their 2016 fall campaign.
The 2016 schedule is a challenging one for the Black and Gold, as they will play all but one game away from Smithfield. Bryant will play the majority of its home games at Goldberg Family Field on the Brown University campus in Providence. Travel aside, the Bulldogs schedule features four Ivy League teams, three America East schools and a Big East member.
Bryant begins its season under the lights at Colgate on Friday, Aug. 26th. Last season the Black and Gold trumped the visiting Raiders, 4-1, with goals from returners Elena Borovskis (Pequannock, N.J.), Victoria Danby (Lancaster, Mass.) and Keighan Richardson (North Attleboro, Mass.).
The Bulldogs continue their opening weekend in Upstate New York, traveling to Albany for the first time since their 3-0 loss in 2014. Bryant wraps up its three-game road trip with a return to the Ocean State to battle Providence in the capital on Sunday, Sept. 4th at 1 p.m., marking the first time the two teams have met in the Division I regular season.
The Black and Gold will then make their "home" debut on Monday, Sept. 5 when they play host to Yale, the first of four Ivy League competitors on the schedule, in Providence.
Bryant will again hit the road to face Dartmouth and Pacific in Hanover, N.H. on Sept. 9th and 10th, respectively. Last year, the Bulldogs fell to the Big Green, 3-2, after leading 2-0 with nine minutes to play, while the Tigers held Bryant scoreless, 4-0, in the team's 2015 season debut.
After splitting games with Vermont and Maine last season, the Black and Gold head to Saucier's alma mater hoping to find redemption from last year's 8-0 loss to the Black Bears. After winning the first-ever game between the programs last season, Bryant looks to trump the Catamounts on their turf this year. A pair of goals from then freshmen Emily Perryman (Lebanon, N.H.) and Victoria Newbill (Wilton, Maine) put the Bulldogs on top 2-1 last year.
The Black and Gold wrap up nonleague play against Ivy League members Columbia and Brown on Sunday, Sept. 25th and Sunday, Oct. 2nd, respectively. The Bulldogs host the Lions at the Goldberg Family Field, only to turn around and play the Bears the following week on the oh-so-familiar turf.
Friday, Oct. 7th marks the start of Bryant's conference slate, as the Bulldogs take on the MAAC's newest addition LIU Brooklyn at 7 p.m. in Smithfield, the only true home game for the Black and Gold this season. Having faced four one-goal decisions in the last eight seasons with Rider, the Black and Gold head to Lawrenceville, N.J., for a competitive matchup with the Broncs on Sunday, Oct. 9th at noon.
The Bulldogs will clash with defending MAAC Champion Fairfield on Friday, Oct. 14th at 4 p.m. in Providence, marking only the second time in Division I history the teams have met. Recording one of its three wins last season against Sacred Heart, Bryant visits the Pioneers on Sunday, Oct. 16th at 1 p.m., before taking on Monmouth on Friday, Oct. 21st at 4 p.m. on the Jersey shore.
Bryant concludes conference play on Sunday, Oct. 23rd, when it hosts Siena in Providence. The Black and Gold will look to add to their blistering 7-1 Division I series record over the Saints, before closing their regular season with a road game against Holy Cross on Sunday, Oct. 30th at 3:05 p.m.
The Bulldogs will battle this season in hopes of a return to the MAAC playoffs for the first time since 2013. The four-team tournament begins on Friday, Nov. 4.
Click here to view the full 2016 schedule.