Bulldogs dominant on road against Wagner, limit Seahawks to single tally in 8-1 win Saturday

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University men's lacrosse team led from start to finish Saturday, scoring six unanswered goals in an 8-1 win over Wagner College on the road.

The Bulldogs (6-5, 2-1 Northeast Conference) dominated the Seahawks (5-6, 0-2) in every category, extending their series streak to nine-straight wins.

Led by a near-perfect mark from junior faceoff specialist Kenny Massa (Huntington, N.Y.) and two goals apiece from starting attack Tucker James (Essex Fells, N.J.) and Cam Ziegler (Carlsbad, Calif.), the Black and Gold outshot their hosts, 39-15, and nearly doubled up Wagner in ground balls, 29-16. Six different Bulldogs put markers in the goal column while eight recorded at least one point.

Massa lost just a single faceoff in the contest – the second of the game due to an early jump – and led both sides with seven ground balls. The Bulldogs' starting defense combined for eight caused turnovers on the afternoon, led by four from junior Anthony Johnson (Fairfield, Conn.) and three more from redshirt-junior Chas South (Lincroft, N.J.) (4 ground balls). Bryant forced 13 Wagner giveaways on the day.

Junior goalie James Werner (New Rochelle, N.Y.) made six stops to limit Wagner to just a single score, the fewest the Bulldogs have allowed in the program's Division I era and fewest allowed in head coach Mike Pressler's 11-year tenure.

"The two things that were incredibly dominant for us today were Kenny Massa at the faceoff X and an incredible defensive performance," said Pressler. "With Kenny's day at the X, we had the ball the entire game. James Werner and his crew shut Wagner down, limiting them to 15 shots and just one goal on their field. To do those things in a conference road game is very exciting for us on many levels."

Wagner broke through just once in the opening 30 minutes of play – a tally from JP Pawela with 1:44 remaining in the first – as the Bulldogs dominated the first two quarters to take a 5-1 lead into the halftime break.

James got the scoring started less than 90 seconds after the opening faceoff, creating his own shot for an unassisted goal and 1-0 Bryant lead. Senior midfielder Ryan Sharpe (Poway, Calif.) doubled that lead with 4:04 left on the quarter clock, and, after Pawela's score, senior longpole Cody O'Donnell (Smithfield, R.I.) opened second-quarter scoring with his second of the year for the 3-1 edge.

Senior Brett Baker (Ridgefield, Conn.) found netting less than two minutes later on a goal assisted by James, and James would notch his second goal and third point of the day with 4:15 left before the intermission to create the 5-1 halftime margin.

Out of the break, junior Kyle Cornell (Darien, Conn.) (4 ground balls) kept the Bulldog scoring streak going, taking a pass from Baker and depositing it into the back of the net for a 6-1 advantage less than five minutes into the third.

Ziegler would complete the game's scoring with back-to-back tallies just 59 seconds apart in the final minutes of the third, as Seahawks netminder Matt Sefcik (15 saves) made five fourth-quarter stops to maintain the 8-1 margin through the final whistle.

The Bulldogs return home to host their next NEC contest, as Sacred Heart visits Smithfield Saturday, April 8 at 1 p.m.