Bryant looks for big win over Drexel Sunday

PHILADELPHIA – The Bryant University men's lacrosse team looks to get back on the side of winning and return to above .500 play Sunday afternoon when the Bulldogs faceoff against first-time opponent Drexel University at Vidas Field (12 p.m.).

The game comes just 48 hours after the Bulldogs (2-2) took on an Army side ranked in the top of the national polls (No. 11/16). Already this season, the Dragons (2-3) have wins over St. Joseph's and Albany, with close losses against tough opponents No. 2 Virginia (12-9), 2010 NCAA Championship Game participant Notre Dame (11-7) and nationally ranked Villanova (14-13).

"When I put the schedule together a year ago, I knew this was going to be without question the toughest challenge of this season," said Bryant head coach Mike Pressler. "Taking on two NCAA-caliber teams in 48 hours with one of those games on the road is quite a challenging feat to put to our team."

The Dragons are led by Scott Perri's 21 points on offense, which comes off a team-leading 14 goals and seven assists, while Robert Church has dished out a squad-best eight assists to compliment six goals. Brendan Glynn has also been a top goal scorer for Drexel, netting 10 with a single assist in five starts.

Devin Thomas will match up against Bulldog grad student Trever Sipperly (Greenwich, N.Y.) at the faceoff X following the transfer's stellar day against nationally ranked Army Friday afternoon, despite the 12-7 loss. Sipperly went 14-of-22 on the day and is 38-of-65 on the season. Thomas enters Sunday's contest with a 60.3 percent success rate (41-of-68), while Michael Roe has also taken a chuck of the opportunities at the X, to the tune of 25-for-48 on the year.

In net, a Bryant offense that has struggled to put the ball in the goal will have to figure out Mark Manos, who sports a 9.67 goals against average and a .583 save percentage, to get the win. Manos has faced 166 shots in just five games and has played in all but 2:09 of the 2011 season between the pipes for the Dragons.

Bulldog junior captain Jameson Love (Darien, Conn.) will try to put the same challenge to the Drexel attack after allowing an opponent double-digit goals for the first time in 2011 Friday against Army. Love has turned away 107 shots so far this year and boasts a .557 save percentage with a 6.80 goals against average. He is tied for the team lead in ground balls (14), a lead he shares with sophomore starting defenseman Mason Poli (Downingtown, Pa.).

Sophomore Peter McMahon (Wilton, Conn.) leads the Bulldogs in the attacking end with 10 points off three goals and a team-high seven assists, having registered at least one point in every game this season. Senior Gary Crowley (Scituate, Mass.) paces Bryant in total scores, finding the net eight times in four outings, while Matt Bletzer (Medfield, Mass.) leads all rookies with three goals and four helpers. The trio scored five of Bryant's 12 points and two of the team's seven tallies Friday against the Black Knights.

"At the end of the day, it's all about the next game, and we feel we are ready to go," said Pressler. "We have so much respect for Drexel with so many returning players after narrowly missing the tournament a season ago. The Dragons have one of the best goalies in the nation and they can score on you a lot of ways offensively, so we know we'll have our hands full Sunday at Vidas Field."