Men look to stay perfect at home vs. UVM

BULLDOGS LOOK TO STAY PERFECT AT HOME, HOST VERMONT SATURDAY AT 3 P.M.

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The Bryant University men's lacrosse team returns home to host the University of Vermont in the second half of a Bulldog lacrosse doubleheader Saturday, as the team looks to stay perfect at the Bryant Turf Complex in 2012.

The Bulldog women will open the weekend twinbill with a noon tipoff against Navy, and the men will face off against the Catamounts (0-2) at 3:00 p.m.

Coming off a 9-8 double overtime loss on the road at Fairfield a week ago, the Bulldogs (1-2) look to get their record back to even against a struggling Vermont team that has already faced off against two nationally ranked opponents during its season-opening road stretch.

The Catamounts have suffered 10-6 and 11-4 defeats to then-No. 19 Colgate, a team Bryant fell to on the road in its season opener, and No. 14 Harvard and feature just a single player with at least three points on the year. Drew Philie leads Vermont with a goals and two assists, while a trio of Catamounts in Thomas Galvin, Connor McNamara and Andrew Buckanavage boast a team-leading pair of tallies on the year.

"This is Vermont's third road game in a row to start the season, and from what we've seen on film, the Catamounts are a very, very competitive team in 2012," said Bryant head coach Mike Pressler. "A year ago in Burlington, Vt., they really took it to us the second half, and this matchup Saturday is a very pivotal game for Bulldog lacrosse."

Last year on the road against the Catamounts, Vermont thwarted a 4-3 Bulldog edge at the break, outscoring the Black and Gold, 4-1, in the final two quarters to take a 7-5 victory. The Bulldogs have been an early offensive team again this season, scoring 17 of their 27 tallies before halftime while holding opponents to just 12 total first-half goals. After the break, though, Bryant has been outscored, 14-10, including a 7-3 margin in the third quarter alone. It is a trend the home side looks not to repeat after last year's bout.

The hosts will again have to contend with goalie David Barton, as well, as the current senior made 16 stops last season and has been a stronghold for Vermont in 2012, playing all 120 minutes between the pipes with 27 saves, a 10.50 goals against average and a .562 save percentage.

But Barton's counterpart in Bulldog netminder Jameson Love (Darien, Conn.) enters the contest off one of his best performances to date, collecting 19 saves against the Stags on the road, including five in a pair of overtime sessions. The mark is just one short of his career high, and Love's 8.37 goals against average and .629 save percentage over the first three games ranks 19th and eighth in the nation, respectively.

At the faceoff, the Catamounts have called on three different sources, most consistently turning to Andrew Muscara at the X. Muscara is 8-of-29 on the year, and as a unit, Vermont is 12-of-39 on the faceoff for a 30.8 team winning percentage. The trio will match up against Bryant's Kevin Massa (Huntington, N.Y.), who has taken all of the Bulldogs' faceoffs in 2012 and boasts a .607 win percentage on a 37-of-61 overall mark. Massa has yet to win less than half of a game's total faceoffs through his first three collegiate contests, and the rookie leads the team with 21 ground balls.

Offensively, the Bulldogs are paced by nine points from junior attackmen Cody Isdaner (Gladwyne, Pa.) and Peter McMahon (Wilton, Conn.). The former is tied for the team lead in goals with seven, a distinction he shares with sophomore surprise Colin Dunster (Cos Cob, Conn.), while the latter's seven assists are a side best. Dunster rounds out Bryant's top three scorers, adding an assist for eight points on the year, while eight Bulldogs have at least one score on the young 2012 campaign.

"In a perfect world, you want balance to your offense," said Pressler, "but at the end of the day, we are really counting on our second midfield to step up this week against Vermont.

That second midfield, made up of sophomore Bo Redpath (Norwich, Vt.), junior Kyle Crowley (Scituate, Mass.) and rookie Brian Schlansker (Glenville, N.Y.), has just a single point to its name -- an assist from Redpath -- and has taken only three total shots. Redpath also has five ground balls and a caused turnover in three outings to lead the line.

Overall, Bryant has a 111-89 edge over opponents in the ground ball margin with 27 caused turnovers, a category paced by four apiece from junior Glenn Maiorano (Easton, Conn.) and sophomore Matt MacGrotty (New Westminster, B.C.), who have both earned defensive starts in all three contests.

Saturday's game is the first of four home contests in March and is slated to begin at 3 p.m.