James nets 200th career point, Bulldogs top Saint Joseph's, 8-7, in key NEC matchup

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Senior attack Tucker James (Essex Fells, N.J.) scored the game-winning goal and notched his 200th career point with 88 seconds to play Saturday afternoon, as the Bryant University men's lacrosse team earned a hard-fought 8-7 win over Northeast Conference foe Saint Joseph's at the Track & Turf Complex.

Saturday's game marked the first league win for the Bulldogs (5-5, 1-1 NEC), who also earned their first regular-season conference victory over the Hawks (3-6, 0-1) in four tries. Bryant never trailed after tying the game at 2-2 just 1:23 into the second quarter.

"We've played 10 games so far this season and so many of them have been exactly the same – one-goal games decided late in the fourth quarter," said Bryant head coach Mike Pressler. "Today, our guys made the plays on both ends of the field to win it."

James finished the contest with a game-high four points (2 goals, 2 assists), passing Shane Morrell for fourth on the program's all-time career list (200). He led seven different Bulldog scorers, including the first of the year from junior faceoff specialist Kenny Massa (Huntington, N.Y.) and the first in the career of senior midfielder Mike Tufano (East Northport, N.Y.).

"That is just another great tribute to a great player who has had a great career," Pressler said of James. "And to get goals from Massa and Tufano was huge. Those goals just paved the way for us today."

Saint Joseph's quickly neutralized Bryant's 4-2 halftime lead with goals from Kyle Cain and Jason Kelly less than two minutes apart to lock the scoreboard at 4-4 with 10:30 to play in the third.

But just 48 seconds later, senior midfielder Tom Forsberg (Huntington, N.Y.) would kick off a three-goal Bulldog spurt that saw each member of the top middie line get on the board. Forsberg's goal, a bullet from 15 yards out, would come off a pass from junior attack Cam Ziegler (Carlsbad, Calif.) behind the crease to break the 4-4 deadlock. As the clock ticked under five to play, senior Ryan Sharpe (Poway, Calif.) took a pass from junior Kyle Cornell (Darien, Conn.) and found netting to send the Bulldogs into the fourth with a 6-4 edge.

Senior Brett Baker (Ridgefield, Conn.) capped off the run when he took a feed from James and found room behind reigning NEC Defensive Player of the Year T.J. Jones, upping the home side's lead to 7-4 with 9:35 remaining in the fourth.

But the Hawks were primed for a response, and three minutes later they would have one, again out of the stick of Kelly to cut their deficit down to two. Minutes later, out of a Saint Joseph's timeout, Chris Blewitt would connect with Kevin Reidinger, and the senior would build on that momentum, closing the gap to just a single goal with 3:33 to play.

"We've been there before, and we expected that," said Pressler. "We were not surprised, and we didn't panic. We just made the plays we needed to."

With less than two minutes to play, a key defensive effort from James on the Bryant ride forced Davis Stoner to turn the ball over at midfield, where the senior captain took control of the loose ball and made the Hawks pay for the giveaway, hammering home what would eventually stand as the game winner with 1:28 left on the clock.

Austin Smith would keep the visitors' hopes alive with his own unassisted tally off the ensuing faceoff, but the Bulldog defense would stand strong in the final 1:15 for the 8-7 victory.

Massa went 10-for-19 with three ground balls from the X against a stellar Saint Joseph's faceoff unit led by Danny Manning (9-19, 4 GB). Longpole wing Cody O'Donnell (Smithfield, R.I.) was key to Bryant's faceoff success in the affair, collecting four ground balls to lead the contest. Fellow senior longpole Jared Kaden (Martinsville, N.J.) recorded two crucial caused turnovers for the Black and Gold, who struggled to keep control throughout Saturday's game (19 turnovers).

Saint Joseph's outshot the Bulldogs, 29-26, on the day, but Bryant held the margin in ground balls, 24-23. The Bulldogs struggled on the clear, primarily in the first quarter, going 14-of-19 on the day and just 4-for-7 in the opening 15 minutes.

Junior goalie James Werner (New Rochelle, N.Y.) came up with a number of show-stopping saves on the afternoon, making five of his eight stops in the opening period alone. Jones finished the contest with nine stops for the Hawks.

The Bulldogs continue their NEC slate as they open April play, traveling to Staten Island for a 1 p.m. matchup against Wagner College Saturday, April 1. Bryant will be looking for its first back-to-back victories of the season.