Bulldogs spread scoring in 11-7 win

BULLDOGS SPREAD SCORING IN 11-7 VICTORY OVER SAINT JOSEPH'S IN HOME OPENER SATURDAY

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Senior captain Max Weisenberg (Long Beach, N.Y.) recorded his first hat trick of the season while classmate and co-captain Jameson Love (Darien, Conn.) made 13 saves between the pipes as the Bryant University men's lacrosse team earned an 11-7 win over Saint Joseph's University in Saturday's 2012 home opener at the Bryant Turf Complex.

Weisenberg paced six Bryant (1-1) goal scorers , four of whom posted multi-goal games, as the hosts led throughout the contest. Junior transfer Cody Isdaner (Gladwyne, Pa.) tied Weisenberg's team-best three points with a pair of tallies and a helper, while junior attackman Peter McMahon (Wilton, Conn.) chipped in a game-best three assists. Bulldog sophomore Colin Dunster (Cos Cob, Conn.) continued his torrid offensive pace against the Hawks (0-2), notching another pair of scorers for six on the year, while junior defenseman Mason Poli (Downingtown, Pa.) also tallied two goals in his season debut.

And it was Poli who got the game started, making good on the first shot of his 2012 campaign as well as the first of Saturday's contest, scoring just eight seconds into the game for a 1-0 Bulldog lead.

"We were counting on that play, and it happened to work on the first faceoff," said Bryant head coach Mike Pressler. "We talked about getting out ahead early and going on our way as a key to the game. That's what we did, and Mason had a lot to do with it."

Bryant would get out ahead to the tune of a 4-1 advantage after the opening quarter, adding a Weisenberg score with 8:09 left in first before Dunster and Alex Zomerfeld (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) scored consecutive goals 24 seconds apart to run the clock down to just six ticks. The Bulldogs' only blip in the frame came when a Matt MacGrotty (New Westminster, B.C.) cross check allowed Saint Joseph's Ryan McGee (3 goals, 2 assists) a man-up tally with 1:09 to play.

Just 42 seconds into the second quarter, Isdaner followed up his own shot and hammered the second chance past Hawks netminder Dustin Keen, who replaced starter Griffin Ferrigan to open the period. The goal established the Bulldogs' largest lead of the game to that point, 5-1, but Saint Joseph's would net the next two scores, thanks to an unassisted Patrick Townsend goal and a man-up Michael Dougherty tally that brought the clock down to 9:32 and closed the Bulldogs' lead to 5-3.

A second Isdaner goal answered less than two minutes later, and Dunster would connect with McMahon with just three seconds left before halftime for the former's second goal of the day and a 7-3 margin in the Bulldogs' favor at the intermission.

But out of the break, the Hawks had Bryant chasing for nearly the entire third quarter, firing 13 shots to the Bulldogs' five and scoring the only two goals of the period. The visitors stood strong on defense throughout the frame, as well, forcing the home side to go 1-for-5 on the clear after missing just two in the opening half.

"We always talk about the first five minutes of the third quarter, about seizing the momentum," said Pressler. "I was disappointed in our lack of response after the first half. I think our guys thought it would be easy, and obviously, it wasn't."

Love's five saves in the session nearly kept the Hawks off the scoreboard, though, until Kyle Williams took a pass from McGee with 3:47 remaining and found space behind the Bulldog netminder. It was a play the pair would reverse just 19 seconds after, as McGee notched his second score of the game off a Williams dish.

"Our clearing decisions in the third quarter were subpar," said Pressler, citing it as one of the major areas where his team needs to improve. "Our inability to win the 50/50 ground ball, our clearing decisions, and our ability to come out in the second half to try to gain some momentum. These are three phases of the game that we must work on. We didn't do well today in all three of those areas."

But with just a two-goal, 7-5 advantage entering the final 15 minutes, the Bulldogs kicked their offense into high gear, scoring three-straight goals to extend their lead, leaving less than 10 minutes on the clock for the visiting Hawks to make up the five-score difference.

"We finally understood that now, with the score 7-5 after three quarters, it was a game," said Pressler. "Whatever we'd done prior was a mute point. This game was going to be decided in the final quarter."

Weisenberg's unassisted score 65 seconds into the fourth quarter set the tone, and Travis Harrington (Vestal, N.Y.) found net for the first time in this season 58 seconds later off the dish from McMahon. Weisenberg completed his hat trick at the 9:22 mark, as the Bulldogs, who drew five whistles to Saint Joseph's three in the contest, scored their only extra-man tally of the game for the 10-5 margin.

"I was disappointed with Max's performance against Colgate, and I was on him all week," Pressler said, "so it's good to see Max take that challenge and respond."

And while the Bulldogs had the game in hand, the Hawks wouldn't lie down, scoring a pair of goals in the final minute, scores that came from Williams and McGee, before Poli wrapped up the game just as he started it -- with an unaided goal with five seconds left to play.

Williams and McGee combined for nine of the Hawks' 12 points in the outing, and Williams matched Love's game-best eight ground balls on the day. Saint Joseph's had no answer for rookie Kevin Massa (Huntington, N.Y.) at the faceoff X, as the Bulldog frosh won 16-of-20 restarts against four different Hawks.

"Kevin's just on a roll," said Pressler. "He's been an outstanding addition as a freshman in a crucial area that was so needed after the graduation of Trever Sipperly last season. I just can't sing Kevin Massa's praises enough."

Keen made eight stops in 45 minutes in goal for the visitors, while Ferrigan posted three in the opening stanza while allowing four scores to take the loss. Bryant struggled with turnovers in the middle quarters, where the team committed 14 of its 20 giveaways, while Saint Joseph's had 15 turnovers in the affair. The Bulldogs won the ground ball battle, 44-33, and edged the Hawks in shots, 37-35. The visitors went 13-of-20 on the clear as the hosts finished the day 15-of-21 in the category.

"Jameson actually had to make a couple more saves than I thought he should have today," Pressler said. "Again, it was a solid performance from him between the pipes. Still, all of us at the defensive end, myself included, have to work to improve the clearing game."

The Bulldogs return to action on the road next Saturday, traveling to Fairfield, Conn., for a 1 p.m. bout against Fairfield University.