Bryant knocking on door of nat'l rankings; travels to Providence College Tuesday (7p)

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The Bryant University men's lacrosse team continues to knock on the door of both of the nation's top 20 polls, receiving votes in both the USILA Coaches Poll and the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll, as the Bulldogs prepare to face in-state rival Providence College Tuesday night (7 p.m.).

This appearance marks the third-straight week the Bulldogs, now 5-2, have appeared on the USILA Coaches Poll and their fourth appearance on the year. It is also Bryant's second-straight mention in the receiving votes section of the media poll and comes on the back of the team's fourth-straight victory of the year Saturday against Stony Brook.

The Bulldogs are one of two Northeast Conference schools receiving votes this week, joined by Robert Morris. A pair of 2012 Bryant opponents are ranked in the top 20 (#15/15 Fairfield and #17/17 Colgate) in both polls, and future opponent Yale is also receiving votes.

The 10-9 double-overtime win over the Seawolves Saturday afternoon also keeps Bryant perfect at home in four contests this season, but the Bulldogs will have to put their four-game winning streak on the line against intrastate foe PC as they search for their second-straight Ocean State Cup title.

The Friars are 1-5 on the season, having earned their only win against Bryant's conference-mate Wagner College, 13-5, back on Feb. 25. Providence will look to snap a four-game losing streak Tuesday, having been defeated by no more than four goals in the team's last four contests, including a 7-6 heartbreaker to #18 Georgetown and a 10-6 loss to #9 Syracuse.

Andrew Barton leads the Friars with 13 points off nine goals and four assists in 2012, posting team highs in all three categories. Jake Nolan follows with 10 points off six goals and a quartet of assists, while a pair of PC players have chipped in seven goals apiece in Niall Cahill and JT Weber.

A pair of faceoff men have taken the majority of the Friars' faceoffs this season, with Ryan Shaw's 56.2 percent success rate (41-73) trumping his counterpart's 21-of-54 mark (.389). Shaw also leads the team with 28 ground balls on the season while Andrew Bromley picks up 16 from the faceoff position.

Four different goalies have seen time between the pipes for Providence, and while Christian Dzwilewski has seen most of the action, appearing in all six contests with 282 minutes in goal, Peter Badgley has the platoon's only win. Badgley has three appearances in 2012 and boasts a .533 save percentage and 7.20 goals against average in limited action. Dzwilewski has 56 of the team's 68 saves with a 10.85 goals against average and .523 save percentage.

Providence has allowed just five man-up goals in six games this season while scoring 13 of its own. The team's man-up offense ranks fourth in the nation, successful 56.5 percent of the time, and its man-down defense sits in the top 25.

In last year's contest, the Bulldogs jumped out to an early 6-0 lead on goals from six different players and took an 8-1 advantage into the halftime break. The teams would each score a goal in the third and would come out even in the fourth as well, 4-4, as Bryant maintained the halftime margin for a 13-6 victory in Smithfield.

But the last time Bryant traveled to Providence was not as smooth of a win, as the Friars matched the Bulldogs goal-for-goal throughout the entire contest back in 2010, never letting the visitors out ahead by more than a pair of goals in what would turn out to be a hard-fought 9-8 Bryant victory.

Senior Travis Harrington (Vestal, N.Y.) and junior Peter McMahon (Wilton, Conn.) lead all current Bulldogs in scoring against the Friars, having each posted four points over the last two seasons of meetings. Harrington's points come off three goals and an assist while McMahon recorded a pair of helpers in each outing for the total. Sophomore Dan Sipperly (Greenwich, N.Y.) paced last season's tilt with a hat trick.

Against this year's competition, sophomore Colin Dunster (Cos Cob, Conn.) leads the way for the Black and Gold with 18 goals and four assists for a team-best 22 points, while McMahon is right behind with 10 goals and a team-leading 11 helpers. Junior transfer Cody Isdaner (Gladwyne, Pa.) joins the pair as another double-digit scorer with 10 tallies on the year.

Defensively, the Friars will have to get past reigning Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Week Jameson Love (Darien, Conn.), who has stopped 61.5 percent of all the shots he's seen this season, having played all but a single minute between the pipes. Love averages nearly 14 saves per game and both that and his save percentage are ranked third in the nation after Saturday's 11-stop performance.

The young Bulldog defense is also clicking well in front of Love, as starters Matt MacGrotty (New Westminster, B.C.), Connor Dent (Havertown, Pa.) and Glenn Maiorano (Easton, Conn.) have each collected at least 10 caused turnovers, with Maiorano's 11 leading the way.

Tuesday's game can be seen LIVE on Cox Sports at 7 p.m.