Bulldog streak ends at 10, Bryant falls to Yale in double OT

BULLDOGS' STREAK ENDS AT 10, #19 BRYANT FALLS TO #20 YALE IN DOUBLE OT, 11-10, FRIDAY NIGHT

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Junior Mason Poli (Downingtown, Pa.) netted his second hat trick of the season, including the game-tying goal with 20.6 seconds left in regulation, and the #19 Bryant University men's lacrosse team controlled the pace of both overtime sessions, but Yale's Matt Gibson would get the winner with four seconds remaining in double-overtime for an 11-10 win at Reese Stadium Friday night.

The loss snapped a 10-game winning streak for the Bulldogs (11-3), as the teams combined for 81 shots in the contest. The 20th-ranked Elis (8-4) saw Bryant limit Gibson, the hosts' leading scorer on the year, through nearly the entire game, but the senior would finally break through in Yale's 12th overtime session of 2012.

"That second half was wild," said Bryant head coach Mike Pressler. "The first half was just a defensive battle – a 3-2 score at halftime – and then we score eight and they get seven in the second half. It was two different games."

The game almost never went to extra frames, though, as Bryant found itself trailing by three, 10-7, with just 5:05 to play in the fourth quarter after a Greg Mahony empty-net goal with Bulldog netminder Jameson Love (Darien, Conn.) doubling down out on defense.

But the Bulldogs quieted the home sideline in a big way as the minutes ticked off in the final frame, scoring a goal with 2:32 left in regulation – an Alex Zomerfeld (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) goal from linemate Max Weisenberg (Long Beach, N.Y.) – to kick off three-straight tallies that would bring the score back to even at 10-10 and mark the fifth tie of the game.

"To be down, 10-7, with two-and-a-half minutes to go and score three goals in those final minutes was just an incredible finish for our guys," said Pressler. "When you commit to playing the transition game, that's what gets you back in the contest."

Zomerfeld's goal came off a tricky no-look pass from Weisenberg and would be followed up by a Dan Sipperly (Greenwich, N.Y.) tally from senior Travis Harrington (Vestal, N.Y.) with 1:39 left on the clock. Then, with less than 30 seconds to go in the fourth, a Gibson turnover forced by Poli created the game-tying opportunity for the junior longpole, who scooped up the ground ball, ran down the field and fired a bullet on Yale goalie Jack Meyer, sending the teams to overtime in the final seconds.

"Mason Poli was the best player on the field today," said Pressler. "He is just an electric, dynamic pole between the lines, and that last goal was absolutely incredible. He caused the turnover and went coast-to-coast for that score."

In the first OT session, Love and Meyer exchanged saves to keep both teams' scorers off the board, and rookie faceoff specialist Kevin Massa (Huntington, N.Y.) won the restart to open the second, giving the visitors possession for nearly the first three minutes of the stanza.

But the Eli defense remained tight, finally forcing a turnover after four Bryant shots sailed wide. A quick Yale clear got the ball up to Gibson, who fought back Bryant defenseman Glenn Maiorano (Easton, Conn.) just enough to get the opening he needed to hit the game winner.

"We did a great job on Gibson the entire game – Glenn Maiorano was spectacular all night – and he didn't score at all until the last goal of the game," Pressler said. "That was what we needed from our lead attack down the stretch, and we weren't able to get it."

Bryant got on the board first to open the game on a quick transition goal by senior Matt Larson (Cheshire, Conn.) sprung by a Rob Maiorano (Easton, Conn.) forced turnover in the back. But the Elis would take the lead before the end of the period, scoring a pair in the final minute for a 2-1 edge entering the second frame.

Yale wouldn't trail again in the contest, opening up 4-2 and 6-3 leads in the third after taking a 3-2 edge into halftime.

With the 6-3 deficit and eight still to play in the third quarter, the Bulldogs saw their first three-goal run of the second half, this one started by Poli with an unassisted score at the 7:56 mark, and followed up by Bo Redpath and Colin Dunster (Cos Cob, Conn.) tallies to knot the game at 6-6 with 2:55 remaining in the third frame.

Colin Flaherty would regain the Yale lead just over a minute later, though, to finish the third with a 7-6 edge in favor of the home side. Poli would start off the final 15 minutes with the second of his three goals just 19 seconds in, and the teams would play to the 10-10 tie as regulation came to an end.

The Bulldogs fired 40 shots on the Yale cage and Love made 13 saves for the visitors, including four in the fourth quarter. Yale edged out Bryant in the ground ball game, 37-35, led by 10 from faceoff man Dylan Levings. Levings went 16-of-25 from the X, keeping the Black and Gold from the getting the offensive jumpstart they have grown accustomed to from Massa.

"I thought Jameson was great," said Pressler. "Every shot that went in was a quality shot. There wasn't one we said, 'well, he should have had that.'

"And this was the first time all year Kevin Massa didn't win that faceoff battle," Pressler added. "He's been incredible for 13 games, and today, he just met his match. We knew that was going to happen someday. Unfortunately, it was Friday night against Yale."

The sides combined to go 0-for-9 on extra-man opportunities, with Bryant scoreless on five attempts. The Bulldogs forced 10 caused turnovers on the evening, including three from Glenn Maiorano and two from Poli, who finished the day with three goals off three shots.

"We lost this game because their close defense dominated our attack," said Pressler. "Our three lead players went 1-for-19 shooting, so at the end of the day, we just didn't get the job done on offense. Our inability to shoot the ball well cost us today."

Bryant is now 1-2 in overtime battles on the 2012 season, but has little time to regroup before Sunday's Senior Day home finale (1 p.m.) against Northeast Conference foe Wagner College.

"There's no looking back here," said Pressler. "We have a quick turnaround to our next game, very similar to that of the NEC Tournament, against a Wagner team that has a lot of momentum right now. Mentally and emotionally, we spent a lot of energy out there tonight and didn't get it done, so this is going to be a heck of a test for us on Sunday."