Bulldogs take on Statesmen for NEC Tournament title, NCAA bid Saturday at 1p

PHILADELPHIA – After a 12-8 victory over Sacred Heart in Thursday night's NEC Tournament Semifinal, the No. 20 and second-seeded Bryant University men's lacrosse team will play fourth-seeded Hobart College Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. for the Northeast Conference Tournament Championship and a trip to the NCAA tournament.

The Statesmen (5-9) defeated top-seeded host Saint Joseph's University, 10-9, in double overtime in Thursday's first NEC Semifinal to earn their first trip to the NEC title bout. The two-time defending champion Bulldogs (13-4) won the regular-season meeting against Hobart, 15-8, March 22 in Smithfield, R.I.

"I couldn't be more pleased for this senior class, who has been a huge part of the last two NEC titles, to get back to the championship game," said Bryant head coach Mike Pressler. "There is a lot of momentum and a lot of excitement. The second game is always a players' game, not a coaches' game, and this could be a game of attrition on a warm April day. So those are all going to be some key factors in deciding this one on Saturday."

Jake McHenry leads the Statesmen with 31 points on the year and netted the game winner for Hobart against the Hawks on the team's third extra-man opportunity of the game with 2:22 to play in the second overtime stanza.

All-NEC Second Teamer Cam Stone comes in right behind McHenry with 30 points on the year, including a league-high 1.58 assists per game after a three-point day (1g, 2a) Thursday against Saint Joe's, while Matt Opsahl has posted 21 goals with eight helpers to rank third on the team with 29 points.

Zach Reed proved to be the Bulldogs' biggest obstacle in the teams' first meeting, finding the back of the net three times while adding one assist, and scored once in Thursday's semifinal for 23 points on the year, including 16 goals in 2014.

Hobart also got a standout performance from goalie Peter Zonino, who made 17 stops – including three in overtime – to move on to Saturday's championship.

"Hobart just had a monstrous win, the biggest win in the conference this year without question," said Pressler. "For them to come back in less than a week and beat the conference champion at home after being beat at their place, hats off to them."

To knock off the defending champion Bulldogs, however, Hobart will have to get past NEC Defensive Player of the Year and All-NEC First Teamer Gunnar Waldt (Freeland, Md.) between the pipes. The sophomore Tewaaraton Award nominee made seven saves Thursday against Sacred Heart and nine in the teams' first meeting, entering the NEC title bout with league-leading and national top-10 numbers in save percentage (.599), goals against average (7.60) and saves per game (11.3).Hobart

Bryant will confront Hobart's defensive ranks with an offense that clicked in Thursday's semifinal, headlined by hat tricks from sophomore all-conference first team pick Shane Morrell (Glen Mills, Pa.) and senior linemate Dan Sipperly (Greenwich, N.Y.). Morrell leads the Bulldogs with 50 points on the season (34g, 16a), while Sipperly ranks fifth on the team with 29 points off 24 goals and five helpers.

NEC Rookie of the Year Tucker James (Essex Fells, N.J.) also got in on the scoring action against the Pioneers, netting a pair while adding two assists and enters the championship second on the squad with 39 points (24g, 15a). The Bulldogs also got multi-point production out of top midfielder Colin Dunster (Cos Cob, Conn.) (2g, 1a), who sits third on the scoring charts this spring with 38 points and second on the team with 29 tallies.

Arguably the Bulldogs' most threatening asset comes in the form of junior faceoff specialist and two-time NEC Player of the Year Kevin Massa (Huntington, N.Y.), who was stellar once again Thursday night, going 20-for-21 from the X with 17 ground balls. The performance moved his nation-leading faceoff winning percentage to 72 percent (257-357), while the New York native also averages 11.12 ground balls each time out.

"He has consistently been dominant for us all year," said Pressler. "What he did on Thursday night, if he can repeat that performance, it will give us a leg up on winning this championship."

All-time, Bryant owns a 2-1 edge over the Statesmen in the overall series and is 2-0 in NEC Championship games. The Bulldogs boast a 6-1 NEC Tournament record and will count on that experience to guide their play on Saturday.

"The senior class has played in the last four NEC Tournaments and are 6-1 overall," said Pressler. "We are going to dwell on that. We've been here before on this stage. There are many, many things that go with that, experience being one of them, and it's important that we understand what that means."

Saturday's game will faceoff at 1:00 p.m. from Sweeney Field on the campus of Saint Joseph's University and can be seen live and free of charge on NECFrontRow.com.