#12 Bulldogs continue move up national rankings, take on PC Tuesday night

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – After winning its fourth-straight contest Saturday afternoon, the Bryant University men's lacrosse team makes yet another jump up the national polls, climbing three spots and settling into the No. 12 ranking – the highest ever in program history.

The Bulldogs (6-2) opened their Northeast Conference schedule with a 15-8 victory over Hobart Saturday at home to extend their season-best win streak to four, pushing Bryant up to 12th in both the USILA Coaches Poll and the Warrior/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. The Black and Gold also climbed to No. 14 in Lacrosse Magazine's weekly poll.

As a team, the Bulldogs remain among the top producers in a number of statistical categories, ranking second in faceoff winning percentage (.674) and fifth in ground balls per game (35.50) behind impressive individual numbers from junior faceoff specialist Kevin Massa (Huntington, N.Y.), who ranks fourth (.678) and fifth (10.13) in the categories, respectively.

Bryant also ranks eighth on the national scene in saves per game (13.25) and scoring defense (7.75), numbers that come on the strength of sophomore netminder Gunnar Waldt (Freeland, Md.). Individually, Waldt ranks second in the country in save percentage (.631), fifth in saves per game (13.25) and eighth in goals against average (7.77).

Bryant's winning streak can also be credited to the recent production of its top offensive threats, as well. Over the team's current 4-0 stretch, the Bulldogs average 12.75 goals per game, 2.5 more than on the season as a whole. Top attack line of Tucker James (Essex Fells, N.J.), Shane Morrell (Glen Mills, Pa.) and Dan Sipperly (Greenwich, N.Y.) have found the back of the net 24 times with 34 points between them, while the first line midfield has accounted for another 26 points and 16 markers since the Bulldogs' last loss.

And while the Black and Gold may be running on all cylinders, they have a challenge awaiting them on short rest in crosstown rival Providence College on the road Tuesday night (7 p.m.). The Friars (3-4) enter the  contest fresh off a 12-11 double overtime defeat at the hands of Brown Saturday and will be looking to gain some ground in the three-team Ocean State Cup standings Tuesday night.

"The PC/Brown/Bryant three-way rivalry has made the Ocean State Cup a nice side piece to our competitive Division I season," said Bryant head coach Mike Pressler. "It's a little added juice for men's lacrosse here in the Ocean State."

Providence has upset the Bulldogs before in Ocean State Cup play, making up a five-goal deficit and netting the game winner with 4:16 left in the contest to take Bryant down in Smithfield last season, 10-9. All-time, the rivalry sits at 3-1 in favor of the Bulldogs.

This season, the Friars are paced by 22 points apiece from both Sean Wright (14 goals, 8 assists) and Andrew Barton (12g, 10a), while Alex Corboy has found the back of the net a team-leading  17 times in seven games. Joseph Fitzpatrick and Greg FitzMaurice have also chipped in double-figure points, with 11 and 12, respectively in 2014.

At the faceoff X, the combination of Ryan Shaw (36-92; .391) and Jake Newman (20-68; .294) will try to handle hot-handed Massa, while the Friars have seen three goalies man the space between the pipes, with duties mostly falling to Tyler Himes. The senior has started all seven games for Providence, posting an 11.23 goals against average and .492 save percentage with 62 stops on the season.

"Our game with PC has become a great local intrastate rivalry," said Pressler. "We have a lot of respect for Coach Gabrielli and the Friar lacrosse program. This season, they have been very impressive at times, and we expect to have a very, very competitive game over there Tuesday night."