Massa sets NCAA records, Bulldogs battle to heartbreaking loss to #1 Syracuse

MASSA BREAKS NCAA MARKS, BULLDOGS FALL TO TOP-SEEDED ORANGE IN NCAA FIRST ROUND

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Sophomore phenom and Northeast Conference Player of the Year Kevin Massa (Huntington, N.Y.) went 22-for-23 at the faceoff X and set two more NCAA single-season records while a pair of Bulldogs netted hat tricks in the program's first-ever NCAA Division I tournament appearance, but despite an early lead, the Bryant University men's lacrosse team dropped a 12-7 decision to top-seeded Syracuse University in Sunday's opening round at the Carrier Dome.

Senior captain Peter McMahon (Wilton, Conn.) scored three times for the fourth-straight contest while junior midfielder Colin Dunster (Cos Cob, Conn.) netted his ninth hat trick of the season as the Bulldogs (8-11) dominated the Orange (14-3) in the ground ball game, 35-23. But the second-ranked and top-seeded hosts outshot their visitors, 30-28, and turned the ball over just seven times to Bryant's 18 giveaways, a stat that proved to be the downfall for the underdog Black and Gold.

"There are so many things to say about this week and this experience," said head coach Mike Pressler. "To see busloads of our students come all the way from Rhode Island and to watch our crowd go crazy for us when we came out of the tunnel was just incredible.

"What this day meant, not only for Bryant lacrosse but Bryant University, just can't be put into words," he continued. "But at the end of the day, we came here to win, and there is no moral victory here. It was about winning and advancing, and with the score 9-7 going into the fourth quarter, we were right where we wanted to be, and we just didn't make the plays to close out the game."

But the plays the Bulldogs made to start the game had top-seeded Syracuse on its heels for much of the opening quarter. Just 39 seconds into Sunday's outing, Bryant owned a 2-0 edge over the Orange, thanks to the powerful shot of Dunster, as the All-NEC and All-New England First Teamer hammered the ball into the back of the net just 10 seconds into the game.

Dunster doubled the visitors' lead 29 seconds later, ripping a shot from 15 yards out past Syracuse netminder Dominic Lamolinara for the 2-0 advantage with 14:21 still to go in the first frame.

McMahon would make it 3-0 in the Bulldogs' favor nearly five minutes later, gathering a feed from Brian Schlansker (Glenville, N.Y.) behind the cage and unleashing a one timer that found net, forcing the Orange to call an early timeout. But the Black and Gold run wasn't over, as NEC Rookie of the Year Shane Morrell (Glen Mills, Pa.) put the Black and Gold up by four when he found open space from the edge of the crease off a pass from junior middie Alex Zomerfeld (Port Jefferson, N.Y.).

"We were ready to play, and it all started with Kevin Massa at the faceoff X," said Pressler. "Colin Dunster hits a couple big shots, and the next thing you know, we are up 4-0. But you know that Syracuse, especially in their own building, is going to come back."

And the Orange did fight back, with a little help from a pair of Bulldog penalties. The hosts would close out the frame on three-straight tallies. The first one, an unassisted goal from Luke Cometti, came even strength at the 7:29 mark, but the next two would come as a direct result of Bryant miscues.

With rookie Collins Gantz (Denver, Colo.) in the box for an offside call and Syracuse on the man advantage, redshirt-rookie Gunnar Waldt (Freeland, Md.) made a big save on an initial Syracuse shot. But when Bryant couldn't clear, Kevin Rice picked up the rebound and deposited it in the net to cut Bryant's lead in half, 4-2.

Then, with 3.4 seconds left to play in the quarter and just seconds after the release of a Matt MacGrotty (New Westminster, B.C.) push penalty, a failed Bulldog clear turned into the third-straight Syracuse goal, this time from Matt Walters, sending the teams into the second stanza separated by just a single goal.

But if the first quarter was full of offense, the second was anything but, with the 4-3 margin holding through the opening 9:23. But with the 30-second timer on and 5:37 left on the first-half clock, McMahon netted his 11th goal of the last four games and second of the night, curling out wide around the cage and firing a line drive into the back of the cage for a 5-3 advantage.

Exactly two minutes later, though, Tewaaraton Award finalist JoJo Marasco finally broke through the Black and Gold defense, as the senior brought the Orange back within one, 5-4, on a laser shot to the stickside of Waldt.

Syracuse would get back on the board with 4.7 ticks left before the break to even the score at 5-5, thanks to a Billy Ward pass that connected with Dylan Donahue on the doorstep.

"I was really disappointed with how we finished the second quarter," said Pressler. "We made a mental mistake, and we should have been up, 5-4. That aside, though, to be even with Syracuse on the road after 30 minutes – I'll take that."

The Orange came out in the third and quickly earned their first lead of the contest, as leading goal scorer Derek Maltz took a dish from Rice for a 6-5 edge just over two minutes into the period.

And after committing eight giveaways in the first half, the Bulldogs would continue to struggle with turnovers in the third, giving the ball away in each of their first four possessions, a run of errors on which Syracuse would capitalize midway through the frame, when Rice netted his second marker and third point of the day for a 7-5 margin in the hosts' favor.

"I was very disappointed in our inability to take care of the ball, especially when it mattered most – when the game was being decided in the third quarter," said Pressler. "We just didn't take care of the ball as well as we should have."

McMahon brought the visitors back within one with seven minutes left in the stanza, completing his fourth-straight hat trick off a feeder pass from Morrell, but Donahue would renew SU's two-goal lead with 5:50 to go in the third, and the Orange didn't look back.

As the clock hit the two-minute mark, Scott Loy put the home side one step closer to advancing with his first marker of the day to move the score to 9-6 in favor of the tournament's top seed. And while Dunster completed his own hat trick – his ninth of the year – with 58.6 seconds to go to cut Bryant's deficit to just two goals entering the final 15 minutes, it would prove to be the last score of the night for the Black and Gold, who saw the Orange score three unanswered goals in the fourth to wrap up the 12-7 victory.

Massa would open the fourth quarter on a high note, however, winning his 19th faceoff of the game to break his second NCAA single-season record of the 2013 campaign. The win at the X – he would finish with just a single faceoff loss in 23 attempts – was his 312th of the season, eclipsing the previous record set by Delaware's Alex Smith (311) in 2007. He wraps up his sophomore season with 315 faceoff victories.

Massa's eight ground balls pushed his first broken record of the year to even greater heights, as the second-year faceoff specialist finished 2013 with 231 ground balls after breaking the previous single-season NCAA record of 194 back on May 2. And with the Bulldogs' season official in the books, the New York native also solidified a third new NCAA mark Sunday night – this one for ground balls per game. Massa finishes his sophomore campaign averaging 12.16 per outing, smashing the previous record of 11.41, set by Geoff Snider in 2006.

"It's incredible to look at what he has accomplished in 19 games, and even more incredible when you consider what each team throws at him game in and game out," said Pressler. "And he just continues to dominate."

With the victory, Syracuse advances to the NCAA Quarterfinals, where it will meet Yale Saturday at 3 p.m. The Bulldogs head back to Smithfield having made Bryant University and Northeast Conference history.

"Today is a time to reflect on our body of work, and the thing I am most proud of is where we were in March at 0-7, and where we are today – conference champions representing the NEC in the NCAA tournament," said Pressler. "These guys have done so much so quickly – two conference championships in back-to-back years, a trip to the NCAA tournament, putting Syracuse on the ropes for three quarters – these are remarkable achievements that these guys will keep with them for the rest of their lives."