Looking Back: Bulldog lacrosse's 2014 dream season

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – It was a year of unexpected firsts – a third-straight Northeast Conference Tournament title, three All-Americans, two Major League Lacrosse draftees and another broken NCAA record – all leading up to a Cinderella run into the NCAA Quarterfinals.

Unexpected, that is, for those outside the Bryant University men's lacrosse locker room. Inside, it was a completely different dialogue. Inside, two words dominated the Bulldog mindset – go beyond.

That was the goal from the very start – not just to return to the NCAA tournament, but to go beyond that one game afforded by the automatic qualifier. To go beyond what they had already done, to go beyond what was expected of them.

"We won the conference and went to the NCAA tournament a year ago, so from the start of preseason we had such a target on our backs," said eighth-year head coach Mike Pressler. "We knew that our goal to get back to that stage and go beyond – to get past that first round – was going to be so difficult. But in the end, that is what our team accomplished, which is quite remarkable."

But what the 2014 Bryant team – as individuals and as a sum of its parts – accomplished was so much more than just one of the greatest storylines in the NCAA tournament. They solidified the Bulldogs' place on the map.

EARLY SUCCESS
Despite a season-opening 7-4 loss at Colgate – the Bulldogs' largest margin of defeat of the entire regular season – Bryant rebounded well in the home opener against then-No. 14 Bucknell, taking a 12-9 win for just the program's second victory over a nationally ranked opponent in the Division I era.

It would turn out to be far from the team's last.

Three games later, the Black and Gold doubled up No. 17 Drexel, 12-6, in front of the home crowd, jumpstarting a seven-game win streak that would take the team into the first week of April with a 9-2 record.

By then, the Bulldogs had been ranked in the Top 20 in all three national polls for four-straight weeks, and a road win over the country's top-ranked offense in No. 13 Albany sent Bryant on a climb to No. 11 in the nation by March 31, the highest national ranking in program history.

"To have the recognition in the polls is not something we necessarily talk about, but it's great notoriety for our program, for our alums and for our future recruits, and that is a very positive thing," said Pressler.

Northeast Conference rival Saint Joseph's would put an end to Bryant's run April 5, but the defending regular-season and tournament champions would not find themselves on the short side of another league matchup for the remainder of the season, securing the two seed entering 2014 NEC Tournament.

THREE-PEAT
League coaches would send the Bulldogs into postseason play with confidence after selecting three major award winners from the Bryant ranks, as repeat NEC Player of the Year Kevin Massa (Huntington, N.Y.), Defensive Player of the Year Gunnar Waldt (Freeland, Md.) and Rookie of the Year Tucker James (Essex Fells, N.J.) headlined 10 all-conference selections that included six first teamers. The Black and Gold would cruise through the tournament by a combined score of 22-12, registering a 10-4 victory over Hobart in the NEC Championship Game to clinch their third-straight NEC Tournament title and second-consecutive bid into the NCAA tournament.

ULTIMATE UNDERDOGS
NCAA tournament expansion, however, would prove to add yet another obstacle for the Bulldogs in their pursuit of the team's preseason goals. The Bulldogs would have to play in the first-ever NCAA Play-In Game on May 7, but would get to host the event that pitted the Black and Gold against MAAC Champion Siena College for the right to take on second-seeded and fourth-ranked Syracuse in the NCAA First Round. It was the first time any Bryant program had hosted an NCAA tournament game at the Division I level.

And behind a heroic 14-save effort from Waldt and the game winner from the stick of sophomore attack and leading scorer Shane Morrell (Glen Mills, Pa.), Bryant edged out the Saints, 9-8, earning the program's first-ever NCAA tournament victory.

But the Black and Gold could not afford to celebrate the achievement for long. After all, Syracuse – the team to which the Bulldogs had lost in the NCAA First Round just one year earlier – was waiting in just four days' time, and the game would be played in an environment that represented the ultimate home-field advantage – the Carrier Dome.

What followed the night of May 11 – Mother's Day – was no less than collegiate lacrosse history.

As they had a season ago, Bryant took the early lead, once again on a Colin Dunster (Cos Cob, Conn.) goal, and by the end of the first, the Bulldogs held a 3-1 lead. The Orange closed that gap by a goal in the second, outscoring their visitors, 3-2, in the frame. But Bryant would head into the break with a 5-4 edge that few not wearing the black and gold thought would hold. After all, this was the Carrier Dome, a place in which Syracuse teams – particularly lacrosse teams – almost never felt the sting of defeat, especially on such a national stage.

The third quarter saw a Syracuse goal sandwiched between tallies from Dunster and linemate Alex Zomerfeld (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) for a 7-5 Bulldog advantage, and while the Orange tied the game at 7-7 in the fourth, a pair of James scores and the winner from Morrell were enough to stun the lacrosse world as Bryant emerged with the 10-9 victory.

It was just the third time in NCAA tournament history the Orange had been beaten at home, but it was also the realization of those dreams and goals spelled out by the Bulldogs in their locker room so many months ago.

The Bulldogs were going beyond.

Bryant had a date with sixth-seeded Maryland in the NCAA Quarterfinals at Hofstra University one week later – the team's 21st contest of the 2014 season. And while the Dunster-led Bulldogs would eventually fall to the Terps, Bryant's place in the upper echelon of the nation's lacrosse scene had been cemented.

"To make a postseason run like that, all the way to the Quarterfinals, as a coach and as a player, you dream of that," said Pressler. "All the work that you put in to get to that point – the 6 a.m. lifts, the runs, the practices in the snow through the winter, the eight days a week you spend as a coach preparing your guys – leading your team to that level makes it all so rewarding and so worthwhile.

"To play twice on national TV, to have the following that we had, to see all the black and gold, the alums, the little kids with Bryant jerseys on was just incredible," he continued. "The Marylands, the Dukes, the Virginias – they are accustomed to all that. But for us, it was very, very new territory."

BY THE NUMBERS
In the end, the Bulldogs would see themselves play the most games of any team in Division I in 2014 and finished the year as one of just three programs to win 16 games or more, a group that also included national champion Duke and NCAA Semifinalist Denver.

Bryant would be given a final ranking of No. 12 in the nation by both the Warrior/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll and by Lacrosse Magazine, as the Black and Gold charged to a 4-1 record in the 2014 postseason.

With a 16-5 record at season's end, only four other teams in the nation posted better winning percentages in 2014, as the Bulldogs ranked fifth overall, winning 76.2 percent of the time. As a team, Bryant also ranked among the country's best 10 squads in faceoff winning percentage (first), man-down defense (fourth), scoring defense (fifth) and ground balls per game (sixth). The Black and Gold also ranked in the country's top 25 in scoring margin, man-up offense, saves per game and shot percentage.

INDIVIDUAL EFFORTS
As the adage goes, there's no "i" in team. And while Bryant's dream season couldn't have been achieved without a strong bond and unified play on the field, there were some individuals the Bulldogs could not have succeeded without.

At the top of that list are Bryant's three All-Americans, starting with the school's first-ever First Team All-American in Massa at the faceoff X. The two-time Northeast Conference and New England Player of the Year, Massa not only finished the season with the nation's top faceoff winning percentage (.688) and second-best ground balls average (10.71 per game), but also set the fourth NCAA record of his career.

After setting three single-season NCAA marks in 2013, Massa needed just 17 games to break the all-time record for ground balls in a career – with an entire season of eligibility left to play. He shattered the previous mark of 553, set by Alex Smith back in 2007, and will enter his senior season with 593 career ground balls.

"That statement is just so ridiculous," said Pressler. "To break a record of that magnitude and then still have at least another 16 or 17 games in his senior year on top of that is just incredible. When Kevin is through, that could be a record in our sport that might never, ever be challenged again."

And Massa could break a few more before he is done. The junior currently ranks second all-time in career faceoffs won with 877 and is also on pace to break NCAA career records for ground balls per game and faceoffs attempted.

Waldt earned All-America Third Team honors as a redshirt-sophomore in 2014 after finishing the season as the only goalie ranked in the national top 10 in save percentage (fourth, .593), goals against average (fifth, 7.92) and saves per game (eighth, 11.45). Waldt, who was named the Baltimore Sun National Player of the Week following Bryant's win over Syracuse, led the Bulldogs' fifth-ranked defense and fourth-ranked man-down unit. Both Massa and Waldt were named 2014 Tewaaraton Award Semifinals.

"I just look back on our two All-Americans, Gunnar and Kevin, and how they defined our team by their play down the middle," said Pressler. "Kevin is our first First Teamer ever, and in him you also have the Player of the Year in the conference again, the New England Player of the Year again, an All-American again. And then Gunnar was the Defensive Player of the Year in the NEC. If you could say one thing that led us to 16-5, that thing was the very consistent play of those guys down the middle that we were able to fall back on."

Pressler also saw a pair of Bulldogs drafted in the Major League Lacrosse ranks, starting with Dunster, who was awarded an All-America Honorable Mention after being selected in the fourth round (30th overall) by the Denver Outlaws. Dunster finished the year ranked second on the team with 51 points and 29 goals and graduates ranked in the program's all-time top 10 in points and goals.

Zomerfeld, a four-year linemate of Dunster's, also heard his name called on draft night, taken by the New York Lizards in the eighth round (58th overall). One of the top two-way midfielders in the game, Zomerfeld was not just a first-line midfielder, but also a key part of both the team's man-up and man-down units. He led the side with 25 helpers and finished fourth overall with 41 points. Zomerfeld graduates in the program's top 10 in assists and ground balls.

Both Dunster and Zomerfeld were selected to participate in the USILA North/South Game, as both were also tabbed All-New England First Teamers.

"We're going to take a lot of hits to graduation, and our biggest is to the midfield," said Pressler. "We lose two stalwarts at defensive midfield in JK Poirier (Coatesville, Pa.) and Rob Goeren (Massapequa, N.Y.), but it will be tough to see Alex and Colin go in particular. It's very doubtful that we will be able to replace those two and get back to that level in just one year. But I am so pleased for Colin and Alex and so excited for us to see them continue their careers at the pro level. For them to be drafted where they were by the teams they went to proves to everyone the pro-like quality of play that they provided to us for so many years."

The Bulldogs return top scorer Morrell following a 44-goal, 61-point season as a redshirt-sophomore, and will also bring back sophomore midfielder Collins Gantz (Denver, Colo.), who added 16 goals and 12 assists and is the only returning piece of this year's first midfield line.

Pressler will also see the return of a pair of top-rated rookies in 2015. James, who finished his freshman campaign ranked second on the team in points (51) and third on the team in goals (31), was one of just five frosh to record 30 goals or more in 2014. He was a five-time NEC Rookie of the Week selection en route to his Rookie of the Year and All-NEC Second Team recognitions and was rated the eighth-best rookie of 2014 by Inside Lacrosse at season's end.

Classmate and fellow 21-game starter Kyle Mummau (Carlsbad, Calif.) also found himself rated as a top-10 freshman as arguably the team's top cover defenseman throughout the 2014 campaign.

So all of this begs the question – what's next for the Bulldogs?

"We've set a very, very high bar here for the 2015 team, but each season is different and each team is different," said Pressler. "I don't want to get ahead of ourselves. We have to look at a whole new group of freshmen, look at the losses to graduation and maybe rebuild this team in a totally different way.

"We have to address the midfield first, but with all that we have returning, there is a lot to build on," he added. "Like we did in 2014, we have to build on our momentum and keep the train rolling."