Bryant to face Drexel Saturday at home

BULLDOGS FACE CAA FOE DREXEL AT HOME SATURDAY AT 1 P.M.

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – After breaking even with last week's triumph over the University of Vermont, the Bryant University men's lacrosse team seeks its second-straight victory Saturday as the Bulldogs host Drexel University at 1 p.m. at the Bryant Turf Complex.

The Dragons (2-3) have taken on a tough early season schedule in 2012 and have fared well despite a trio of losses,  dropping a pair of one-goal home games to top-ranked Virginia, 9-8, in the opener and eighth-ranked Notre Dame, 6-5, at Vidas Field on March 3. Drexel also faced off against a then-No. 8 Villanova side to close February action, falling to the Wildcats, 14-9, on the road.

In the team's last outing, though, the Dragons came out on top, kicking off CAA action with an 8-4 win over league foe Saint Joseph's Tuesday night. It was Drexel's second victory of the season after a 13-8 road win over the University at Albany Feb. 25.

The Bulldogs (2-2) have also matched up against the Hawks this season, taking an 11-7 win in the team's home debut on Feb. 18. Saturday, Bryant will look to stay perfect at the Bryant Turf Complex against a Drexel side that has received national rankings in both major polls throughout the season's early goings, reaching as high as No. 18 in the USILA Coaches Poll, and is currently receiving votes in both lists.

This is the second meeting in as many years between the Bulldogs and the Dragons, who needed four overtime periods to defeat the Black and Gold in Philadelphia nearly a year ago.

Drexel held an advantage over the Bulldogs through the opening three periods, posting a 3-1 halftime lead and a 5-2 advantage after 45 minutes of play. The Dragons would extend their lead to 7-3 with 12 minutes to go in the fourth, but with less than nine minutes left, Gary Crowley and Peter McMahon (Wilton, Conn.) would team up to kick off a four-goal Bryant run that included a pair of Max Weisenberg (Long Beach, N.Y.) scores, knotting the game at 7-7 to end regulation play.

In overtime, the teams battled through nearly four full extra frames, but with 38.4 seconds left in the fourth OT, Kyle Bergman finally tallied the unassisted game winner, giving the Dragons the 8-7 victory.

And while Bergman returns for the Dragons in 2012, neither Scott Perri (2 goals, 2 assists) nor Crowley (4 goals) -- the top scorer for each side in last year's contest -- is back for this season's rematch. Bergman currently sits second in Drexel's 2012 scoring ranks, tallying five goals and eight assists for 13 points in five games this year.

Drexel will also look for production out of current leading scorer Robert Church, whose 15 points have come off a team-leading 10 goals and five helpers, with Brendan Glynn and Aaron Prosser also earning positions as top goal scorers for the Dragons, netting seven goals apiece.

The Dragons have scored just one more goal than the Bulldogs despite having an extra game under their belts, but Drexel has seen scores from 11 different sources in 2012. Drexel's offensive ranks have benefitted greatly from the strong play of faceoff man Deven Thomas, who has gone 50-of-95 from the X and leads the team with 26 ground balls on the year.

Thomas went 10-for-14 from the X in last season's matchup, but will see a new face opposing him in Black and Gold Saturday in two-time reigning Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week Kevin Massa (Huntington, N.Y.). Massa has been more than impressive in the first four games of his collegiate career, picking up a team-best 28 ground balls, including seven in Bryant's 15-8 victory over the Catamounts last weekend, and going 50-of-86 in taking all of his team's restarts.

Massa's success has been a major contributor to the success of the Bulldogs' offense as a whole, but so has the arrival of breakout sophomore Colin Dunster (Cos Cob, Conn.) and junior transfer Cody Isdaner (Gladwyne, Pa.). The duo leads the Bryant goal-scoring ranks with 11 and eight tallies, respectively, while McMahon has dished out nine assists to compliment four goals of his own to tie Dunster for the team lead in points (13).

Dunster, who earned the first NEC Offensive Player of the Week nod of his career Monday, has a pair of four-goal, five-point outings on the young season and is dangerous on the extra-man offense, with three man-up goals. But Dunster and his teammates will have to find a way to continue their high-scoring offense against a formidable opponent in Mark Manos, who made 13 saves in last season's victory and returns in net for the Dragons this season. In 2012, Manos has played all but 27 seconds between the pipes and boasts an 8.21 goals against average and .481 save percentage.

Bryant goalie Jameson Love (Darien, Conn.) was equally as strong a year ago, though, putting up 17 stops of his own, and has been a game-changer for the Bulldogs in 2012. Through the season's opening four contests, the senior captain has posted double-digit saves every time out, amassing 61 stops for an 8.28 goals against average and an imposing .642 save percentage that ranks third among all Division I goalies. His 15.25 saves per outing rank second in the nation as Love enters the game having earned his own weekly conference honor as defensive player of the week following a 17-save outing against Vermont.

Can't make it to the game? Saturday's battle will be carried LIVE in real-time on the Bulldog Sports Network at www.bryantbulldogs.tv.