Bryant primed for NEC run thanks to newfound confidence

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – For the Bryant University men's soccer team, the campaign has been ebbs and flows. Not only in form, but also in confidence. One match in early September is a microcosm of that.

Freshman Ben Williams (Unionville, Ontario) scored his first career goal to put Bryant up on No. 11 Fordham with under 10 minutes to play, but the Rams would equalize and grab a point from a Bulldogs team primed for its biggest win in program history.

"To me, you have to go out and try to play the best teams out there in the non-conference," head coach Seamus Purcell said.

Even with the draw, the confidence grew and it has not stopped building since.

"It was more of a mental lapse," junior goalkeeper Olivier Larente (LaSalle, Montreal, Canada) said. "We were not giving up too many goals in the first half. Into the conference season, we've taken that next step and being really prideful in defense."

That next step turned into one of the most impressive defensive performances in the country, as Bryant's defense allowed just three goals in eight conference matches en route to a 4-2-2 record and the team's first postseason berth since 2014. Its 0.36 goals-against average in conference games ranks second in the country, tied with VCU.

"As a unit, we started to communicate a lot better," junior captain George Gill (Cork, Munster, Ireland) said. "It's come down to the team and starts from the top [of the formation]. Since we've come into conference play, we are talking to each other non-stop."

Its 0.36 goals-against average finished 0.03 off the league record, set by St. Francis Brooklyn during the 2016 season. The defense was a big part, but not the only, that aided the Bulldogs to their highest point output in the league since that 2014 season and its second-highest point total ever.

While the defense has been a strong point, a three-time NEC Rookie of the Week in Williams has also sparked a Bryant offense that was hungry for goals going into the conference season.

"The Division I level of play is much different than the club level anywhere else in the world, really," the Ontario native said. "Getting the kind of guidance I've gotten from the back to not be lazy and get into position has really helped me fit into the system and find my role."

Putting together a strong resume for the conference's rookie of the year, Williams finished the year with 10 points on four goals and two assists. He finished with seven in the league's eight games, including game-winners against Fairleigh Dickinson and Sacred Heart.

Some would compare the growth of the Unionville, Ontario native with the growth of the team from August 24's match with Howard to its upcoming Northeast Conference semifinal. One of them includes Purcell.

"I think [Ben's] energy puts pressure on the other players," he said. "It makes the rest of them focus more and get into the game. We haven't really changed the way we have been playing. Our confidence has just grown and continued to grow since that first conference win."

All of the confidence and growth accumulated over three months of practice and games gets put to the ultimate 90-minute test on Friday morning to see who will play for the conference championship when the third-seeded Bulldogs play the second-seeded Red Flash of Saint Francis U.

"I'm a big believer in sorting out what we need to do," Purcell said. "I think we can get too worried about what other teams are going to do. We just have to continue to do what we have been doing the last eight games."

The players echo the sentiment as they look for just the program's second appearance in a conference final.

"None of us has been in a playoff so it's going to be something new," Gill added. "If we just go and play our game, I'm more than confident we can go get this ring."

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