Bulldogs host Holy Cross Tuesday (7 p.m.)

Full Game Notes

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The Bryant University men's lacrosse team matches up against the Holy Cross Crusaders for the third-consecutive season Tuesday, April 12 at the Bryant Turf Complex in Smithfield, R.I. (7 p.m.). The game can be seen live at www.bryantbulldogs.tv or followed via the live stats link at www.bryantbulldogs.com.

Bryant looks to avenge last season's disappointing 7-6 road loss to Holy Cross and earn its first winning streak of the 2011 campaign with a victory Tuesday night. The Bulldogs (5-6) are riding high after back-to-back wins that saw the program take its first-ever victory over intrastate rival Brown, 8-7, and the program's first official Northeast Conference victory in the newly formed league, 19-9 over Wagner. Bryant enters the game 4-5 out of conference and has two more non-league matchups this season.

The Crusaders come to Smithfield fresh off their first win of the season, a 9-6 topping of Patriot League foe Lafayette on the road. The win snapped a 10-game losing streak dating back to the season opener and an 11-game stretch dating back to last season's finale. Holy Cross has lost each of its first 10 games by five goals or more and are led by just two double-digit goal scorers in top point getter James Kennedy (12g, 10a) and leading scorer John Hannan (16g, 2a). A trio of goalies have seen time between the pipes for Holy Cross and sport a team goals against average of 11.55 with a .445 team save percentage.

THE SERIES
Holy Cross has been outscored, 127-58, in 11 games this season, but the Bulldogs should never count the Crusaders out, a lesson they learned the hard way nearly a year ago. This is the third meeting all-time between these two regional opponents, and the series is split at an even 1-1, with both sides winning on their home turf. And while Bryant took a dominating 13-3 win over Holy Cross in the first outing back in 2009, the Crusaders have the last word entering this year's contest, stunning the Bulldogs, 7-6, in the teams' most recent meeting. That game saw a now-graduated Kenny Minor score a hat trick, including the eventual game winner.

FOR THE BIRDS: BULLDOGS EARN FIRST OFFICIAL NORTHEAST CONFERENCE WIN
With 2011 marking the first season the Northeast Conference (NEC) has ever sponsored the sport of men's lacrosse, Bryant earned its first official league win Saturday in its last outing, letting loose on winless Wagner for a 19-9 road victory. Over the previous two seasons, the Bulldogs have taken on members of the NEC seven times in "non-conference" matchups, winning all seven before losing the official Northeast Conference opener to Quinnipiac, 13-12, on April 1, 2011.

A DIFFERENT KIND OF CRUSADE
The Bulldogs will be on a crusade of their own Tuesday against Holy Cross after squandering what could have easily been the 13th win of the 2010 season a year ago. In that contest, Bryant spotted the Crusaders a 4-0 lead in the first frame before controlling play in the second period to get them all back and knot the score at 4-4 entering halftime. But the home team would go ahead again out of the intermission, netting consecutive tallies on a still unsuspecting defense for a 6-4 advantage. Now senior Gary Crowley scored an unassisted goal to bring the Bulldogs within one entering the final 15 minutes, but Kenny Minor would put a lid on any comeback hopes with the game winner early in the fourth, despite the visitors tacking on a final goal in the waning minutes of play.

X MARKS THE SPOT
Graduate student transfer Trever Sipperly has turned his season around after a tough March that saw the faceoff specialist struggle from the X. Sipperly has truly come in like a lion since the start of April action, improving his faceoff winning percentage by 25 points and nearly 50 percent in just three April contests. Sipperly has been successful an impressive 77.1 percent of the time in April (54-for-70), a mark that has helped raise his season average from 56.2 percent to 63.6 percent entering Tuesday's game against Holy Cross. The impressive effort has earned the Greeenwich, N.Y. native back-to-back Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Week awards for the first two weeks in April, and Sipperly is the reigning DPOW entering Tuesday's contest.

Sipperly's numbers come after having gone just 50-of-96 (.521) through six games in March, and he has already won more faceoffs since the new month started (54) in half as many games. Sipperly has also seen a big boost in ground balls, recording 37 so far this April, more than doubling his March total. He has also more than doubled his season total entering the month, now with 62 ground balls after collecting just 25 through the first eight outings of the 2011 campaign. Sipperly recorded a career-high 19 ground balls against Quinnipiac, a number that stands as the most in a single-game in the nation so far this year, and he is ranked No. 9 in the country in faceoff percentage and No. 16 in ground balls per game (5.64). He also has six points on the season (4g, 2a), getting a goal and a helper so far in April.

STATE CHAMPS
With their 8-7 win over Brown just a week ago, the Bulldogs established themselves as the winners of the second-annual Ocean State Cup, a "tournament" that pits all three Division I Rhode Island lacrosse teams against one another for the title of tops in the Ocean State. Bryant defeated Providence College, the Cup's third member team, 13-6 on March 22 to post an undefeated 2-0 record against statewide opponents.

BULLDOG CAPTAIN ANTHONY IANNELLO NAMED ONE OF 10 NATIONWIDE FINALISTS FOR 2011 LOWE'S SENIOR CLASS AWARD
Bryant University senior captain Anthony Iannello has been selected as one of 10 finalists for the 2011 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for men's lacrosse. The 10 finalists were chosen from the list of 20 candidates announced in February as student-athletes who excel both on and off the field. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.

Nationwide fan voting begins immediately and will be combined with media and coaches votes to determine the winner. Fans are encouraged to vote for Anthony at www.seniorclassaward.com/vote/lacrosse_2011 now through the May 10 deadline and may vote once each day. To read Anthony's complete bio and for more information about the senior and his accomplishments as well as the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award itself, log onto www.bryantbulldogs.com.