Massa, Baker, Ziegler pace Bulldogs in 13-7 win over Sacred Heart Saturday

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Behind hat tricks from senior Brett Baker (Ridgefield, Conn.) and junior Cam Ziegler (Carlsbad, Calif.) and another stellar performance from junior Kenny Massa (Huntington, N.Y.) at the faceoff X, the Bryant University men's lacrosse team took over sole possession of second place in the Northeast Conference with a 13-7 victory over Sacred Heart at home Saturday afternoon.

The Bulldogs (7-5, 3-1 NEC) saw seven different players get on the scoreboard and notched the eventual game winner midway through the second frame. The game featured an eight-goal streak for the Black and Gold spanning the second and third quarters, and the win over the Pioneers (6-4, 2-2) marks the team's first winning streak of the season.

"We are very excited with our effort today," said Bryant head coach Mike Pressler. "This was one of our better starts of the year, and, without question, it was our best third quarter of the year. Playing against the best Sacred Heart team I've seen in my time at Bryant, we played our most complete game for the first three quarters today."

Massa dominated once again at the X, winning 17-of-22 with 13 ground balls on the day. Through four NEC contests this spring, the junior is converting at a .731 clip (49-67) while averaging 7.25 ground balls per game. He has just a single turnover in league action and went without a giveaway Saturday against the Pioneers.

"This was just another monster game by No. 31, and that had a lot to do with the outcome today," said Pressler of his faceoff specialist.

Baker's game-high three goals represented the senior's first-career hat trick and first-career multi-goal game. Redshirt-freshman attack Jake Buonaiuto (Miller Place, N.Y.) and junior midfielder Tom Kennedy (Farmingdale, N.Y.) also tallied multi-score games with two goals apiece.

"Brett is so steady, so reliable, so trustworthy," said Pressler, "and to see him come up with three today from the second midfield was just huge for us."

Brian Masi led the Sacred Heart attack with a pair of tallies, while five other Pioneers notched single goals on the afternoon. Three different players faced off against Massa on the restart, with Max Tuttle finding the most success in limited appearances (3-5). Tuttle added a goal and an assist for Saturday's visitors.

The Bulldogs took a 2-0 lead on their first two shots of the contest, but a three-goal edge with eight to play would quickly disappear in the first quarter's closing minutes, as a Joe Saggese goal just beat the buzzer to send the teams into the second in a 3-3 tie.

But less than three minutes into the next stanza, after causing a Sacred Heart turnover in the defensive end, Jake Pellegrino (Glen Rock, N.J.) sent a crisp pass to Buonaiuto in the lane in transition, and the frosh found netting to give the Bulldogs a lead they wouldn't relinquish for the remainder of the game.

Baker scored his second of the day to make it a 5-3 Bryant advantage 52 seconds later, and while Jake Giaquinto netted a quick tally off his second and final faceoff win of the day eight seconds later, the Bulldogs would respond with the next eight straight stretching through the end of the third.

Ziegler got the run started with back-to-back unassisted tallies before Tom Forsberg (Huntington, N.Y.) capitalized on an extra-man situation to double up the Pioneers, 8-4. Kennedy would wrap up first-half scoring with 91 ticks on the clock to send the teams into the locker room with a 9-4 margin.

Ziegler completed his hat trick three minutes into the third just minutes before Baker completed his, taking a cross-field pass from senior attack Tucker James (Essex Fells, N.J.) and firing a bullet past SHU goalie Brooks Dutton (8 saves) from 15 yards out.

James would get on the board himself seconds into a stall warning for a 12-4 Bulldog advantage, and a Kennedy tally as the third-quarter buzzer sounded extended the lead to 13-4 and completed the eight-goal run.

"A great thing for our team today was that we scored 13 goals and Tucker James only had one," said Pressler. "In the big picture, to be able to do that without our lead pony doing a lot of scoring is huge from a confidence point of view."

The Pioneers would try to mount a comeback in the fourth – scoring three times while keeping the Black and Gold off the board – but three key stops by junior James Werner (New Rochelle, N.Y.) (8 saves) preserved the eventual 13-7 victory.

The Bulldogs outshot the Pioneers, 39-29, and dominated the ground ball battle, 35-22, thanks to 21 in the first half alone. Bryant went 1-for-2 with the extra man and forced eight of SHU's 13 turnovers, including two caused turnovers from senior Cody O'Donnell (Smithfield, R.I.) and junior Anthony Johnson (Fairfield, Conn.).

Bryant will make one of its longest road trips of the season in its next outing on April 15, traveling to Geneva, N.Y., for a league matchup against Hobart (12 p.m.). The Statesmen toppled the Bulldogs in last season's NEC Semifinals, 7-6.

"The season is coming to a close and here we are with three games left, including two conference games against arguably the two best teams in the league," said Pressler. "So the sense of finality is getting closer and closer, but we are playing our best lacrosse right now."