Bulldogs head to UMass Lowell Thursday night

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Coming off a difficult weekend on the pitch, the Bryant University men's soccer team will look to turn things around at UMass-Lowell Thursday night (7 p.m.).

The Bulldogs, who have dropped their last three matches after opening the year with a 3-0 victory at Lehigh, will look to right the ship on Thursday when they head Cushing Field to take on the 1-3 Riverhawks.

Over the weekend, Bryant put up a valiant fight dropping a tough-one to nationally-ranked Brown, 1-0, on Friday, before URI's Matt Sykes dropped a hat trick on the Black and Gold, Sunday night, in the 3-1 loss.

Junior midfielder Connor Norat (Wilimington, Del.) currently leads the Bulldogs with five points on a pair of goals and an assist, while sophomore defender Jake Lamar (New Haven, Conn.) has come on strong in her second year in Smithfield, notching two scores through four games.

In its first season at the Division I level, UMass-Lowell currently sits a 1-3 overall, coming off a 3-1 victory over Canisius on Sunday. The Riverhawks are led by Homero Morais who comes into Thursday's action with seven points on three goals and an assist, while Eric Martin has tallied a pair of tallies in four games. Keeper Christoper Maierle has logged all but 15 minutes in goal thus far, making 18 saves in four starts.

The Bulldogs and Riverhawks last faced off on Oct. 28, 2007 as Northeast-10 foes in the NE-10 Quarterfinals. In an overtime thriller that resulted in a shootout, UMass-Lowell emerged victorious, winning on PK's, 5-3. Bryant will look to avenge their final loss as a Division II program on Thursday.

For links to live stats of Thursday's match and all the latest news on the Bryant University men's soccer team, visit BryantBulldogs.com.