Updated: Men's Lax Game Moved to Wednesday

Bulldogs Take on Harvard Crimson Wednesday at 3 pm 

SMITHFIELD, R.I. —Tonight's men's lacrosse game at Harvard has been postponed until Wednesday afternoon at Soldiers Field Lacrosse Stadium in Cambridge, Mass. starting at 3 p.m.

This will be the first-ever meeting between the Crimson (2-3) and the Bulldogs (0-6), and Harvard enters Wednesday's game fresh off an 11-9 road loss at Brown Saturday. The Black and Gold are also coming off a loss, a 17-15 heartbreaker against No. 19 Albany at home despite receiving their best offensive performance yet this season.

"We made some progress at the offensive end, but we were disappointed with how we played defensively, and Albany had a lot to do with that," said head coach Mike Pressler. "But for us to be successful moving forward, we have to play well at both ends of the field, and that just isn't something we've done the last six games."

Yet, both the Bulldogs and their coach know they will need to put in a full 60-minute effort if they want to start out this fresh new series in the win column when looking at this Crimson side that has taken wins over Holy Cross and Georgetown while suffering a pair of two-goal losses to UMass, 8-6, and the Bears in last week's Ivy League opener.

"Harvard is a very, very accomplished team with a great history of Division I lacrosse," said Pressler. "They are a team that's done a great job recruiting over the last few years, and, even if their record hasn't shown it, we think Harvard is without question a top-20 team this season."

The Crimson are led in 2013 by rookie attack Devin Dwyer, who adds a team-high nine assists to his seven goals for 16 points on the year. Senior middie Alex White is close behind with 12 points and boasts a side-leading nine tallies, while juniors Peter Schwartz (11) and Daniel Eipp (10) have also recorded double-digit points on the season.

Harvard has turned to a pair of midfielders to handle its faceoff duties, with Gabriel Mendola boasting a 20-for-38 mark and Rick Mole going 34-for-65 from the X this season. Mendola leads the team with 23 ground balls and adds a trio of caused turnovers to his resume. Senior Harry Krieger has been solid in cage for the Crimson, having played every minute between the pipes for 54 saves and a 9.40 goals against average.

Despite its loss to a potent Great Dane side, Bryant enters the game off a season-high 15-goal outing just three days ago. Junior midfielder Colin Dunster (Cos Cob, Conn.) picked up his second hat trick in as many games to help lead the Bulldogs, while sophomore attack Shane Morrell (Glen Mills, Pa.) notched three tallies of his own. Leading scorer Alex Zomerfeld (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) also chipped in a pair and now paces the Black and Gold with 16 points off 10 goals and six helpers.

Meanwhile, faceoff specialist Kevin Massa (Huntington, N.Y.) did his part at the X against Albany, going 24-for-35 while gobbling up a career-best 21 ground balls. The sophomore ranks third in the nation in faceoff winning percentage (.667) and leads all of Division I in ground balls per game, averaging 11.33 each time out. As a team, the Bulldogs are fifth on the national circuit in ground balls, picking up 35 per game.

"For our team, I don't think there is a more important game in this still young season than Harvard," said Pressler. "It's about playing well, playing 60 full minutes, playing both ends of the field —this is going to be a very difficult game for us."