Bryant opens NEC play with win over Merrimack

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University men's lacrosse team built led 8-1 after the first quarter and went on to earn a 16-4 victory over Merrimack in the Northeast Conference opener for both teams on Saturday at Beirne Stadium.

Bennett Abladian (3 goals), Logan McGovern (2g, 1a), Marc O'Rourke (2g, 1a) and Timmy Hackett (2g, 1a) all posted three-point afternoons for the Black and Gold. Luke Caracciolo did the rest, posting 13 saves between the pipes to earn his 17th career victory.

Defensively, Keaton Jones and Brody Rule each forced two turnovers.     

Game Information
Bryant 16, Merrimack 4
Records: Bryant 3-4, 1-0 NEC, Merrimack 3-3, 0-1 NEC
Location: Beirne Stadium (Smithfield, R.I.)

Coach Pressler's Comments

"Today, after a tough stretch in non-conference, I was very pleased and excited how our team responded in our first NEC game. Merrimack is an outstanding team who faired much better vs some mutual opponents than we did. Today we defended them, scored on offense and won the specialty positions at faceoff and in goal. Just a great win for the Bulldogs on all fronts as we begin NEC play." 

Key Moment

• Bryant never let Merrimack get settled, scoring four times in the three minutes to force Warrior timeout.        

How it Happened

• Abladian scored just 15 seconds in as he scooped up a rebound and potted it.
• Aidan Goltz, Sam Goforth and Hackett then scored to make it 4-0 at the 12:02 mark.
• After the Warriors got on the board, Bryant posted four more to hold a commanding lead after the first 15. O'Rourke notched two of the four goals to end the quarter.
• Jon Miller and McGovern scored the only two goals of the second quarter to give Bryant a 10-1 lead at the break.
• LaJhon Jones opened the scoring in the second half, taking a feed from McGovern and bouncing home a shot for his second of the year.
• Abladian and McGovern added third-quarter goals. McGovern dodged from behind the cage and was able to bury a shot low.
• A pair of Merrimack goals were answered with tallies from Hackett, Pat Brosnan and Will Milewski to close the scoring for Bryant.       

Stats

• Bryant outshot Merrimack, 43-34.
• The Bulldogs won the ground ball battle, 29-24, and won 13-of-24 faceoffs.
• Bryant was also 25-of-27 on clears.
• Abladian recorded a hat trick.
• McGovern, O'Rourke and Hackett all notched two goals and an assist.
• Nathan Laliberte won 11-of-18 faceoffs.     

Game Notes

• The four goals allowed are the fewest since Bryant allowed four in a win over Wagner on March 30, 2019.
• O'Rourke now has 133 goals and 188 career points. He's 12 points shy of becoming only second player in DI program history with 200+ career points.
• Abladian recorded his fourth hat trick of the year and has 16 goals on the season.
• McGovern is closing in on 100 career points, having scored 94 in 27 career games.

Up Next
Bryant will hit the road to face Hobart next Saturday. It will be a rematch of last year's NEC Semifinal.