BULLDOGS PREVAIL ON SENIOR DAY, TAKE 16-11 SEASON-FINALE WIN OVER SAINT FRANCIS (PA) SUNDAY
April 18, 2010
BULLDOGS PREVAIL ON SENIOR DAY, TAKE 16-11 SEASON-FINALE WIN OVER SAINT FRANCIS (PA) SUNDAY
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Backed by seven goals from senior captain Alli Faiola (Billerica, Mass.) and a career-high four tallies from rookie Emily Bogan (Swansea, Mass.), the Bryant University women’s lacrosse team sent five seniors off with a parting gift Sunday afternoon – a 16-11 victory over Northeast Conference foe Saint Francis (PA) in the 2010 season finale.
Faiola’s game-high seven scores tie her for third in the Bryant single-season records, and the two-time captain added an assist for an eight-point day in her final outing donning the Black and Gold. Bogan’s four goals doubled her previous total on the season, and sophomore Antoinette Lombardi (Wallingford, Conn.) chipped in a hat trick as the Bulldogs (3-13, 3-5 NEC) saw14 of their 16 tallies come from just a trio of scorers.
After Chelsea Kent broke a 4-4 tie for the Red Flash (6-11, 2-7) with 13:01 to play in the opening half, Saint Francis opened up a two-goal advantage, 6-4, with over nine minutes to go before halftime.
But the Bulldogs, led by senior captain Jessica Bolton (Belgrade Lakes, Maine) manning the pipes, shut the door on their conference visitors and scored six unanswered goals to close out first-frame play and take all the momentum – and a 10-6 lead – into the locker room at the break.
Faiola highlighted the six-goal flurry that stretched nearly seven minutes with a trio of her seven scores, while also assisting on the Lombardi tally that started the run.
Faiola connected for her second score of the game with 7:55 to go in the first period, tying the contest at 6-6, and freshman Kelsea Gettings (Wallingford, Conn.) scored the go-ahead goal for Bryant with 5:41 still to play in the stanza.
Bogan followed with her only goal of the first half just over two minutes later, and consecutive tallies from Faiola moved Bryant’s lead to 10-6 as the whistle signaled intermission.
But the Bulldogs’ run wasn’t over. Out of the break, quick goals from Bogan and Faiola just 28 seconds apart allowed the home side to double-up on the visiting Red Flash, 12-6, with 28:15 still to play in the contest.
But Saint Francis wasn’t about to go down without a fight, and top scorers Kate Simmons, Danielle Conwell, Stephanie Toomey and Catherine Helming rallied to cut Bryant’s lead to a single goal, 12-11, with 17:08 remaining on the clock. Simmons kicked off the run with back-to-back goals less than a minute apart.
In the end, though, the Bulldogs would dig in and respond, scoring a quartet of unanswered goals to put the home side on top for good, 16-11. Consecutive Bogan scores bookended by Faiola tallies made up the four-goal final run, with Faiola wrapping up the scoring with 43 ticks on the clock on a free position shot that wrapped up not just the 2010 season, but also a record-setting career for the senior.
Junior Meg Atha (Valley Cottage, N.Y.) also added a goal for the Bulldogs in the game, while Gettings and fellow rookie Madeleine Pickett (Stratham, N.H.) each tallied assists on Senior Day at the Bryant Turf Complex.
Bryant outshot the Red Flash, 45-33, in the affair and put 38 of those shots on goal, forcing goalie Kimberly Peterson to make an impressive 22 saves despite taking the loss. Bolton earned her first win of the season with a 12-save performance over the opening 41 minutes of the contest, while sophomore Lauren Filippone (West Babylon, N.Y.) made two stops and allowed just one goal to close out the victory in the final 19 minutes.
The Bulldogs won the ground ball and draw control battles, 28-18 and 18-11, respectively, and went 4-for-11 on free position opportunities on the afternoon. Bolton picked up five ground balls to lead the contest while sophomore defender Mackenzie Baker (Bayport, N.Y.) and senior captain Victoria Kuhns (South Windsor, Conn.) each forced three caused turnovers to pace the home side.
The Bulldogs finish their season with a 3-13 record and a 3-5 mark in Northeast Conference action in just their second season of Division I action.