Comeback falls short for women's lax, 11-9

Freshmen score eight of nine goals as Bulldogs mount big second-half comeback but fall short at Robert Morris

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Freshmen scored eight of Bryant's nine goals and netted all seven tallies in an impressive second-half near-comeback, but the push fell just short as the Bryant University women's lacrosse team ran out of time at Robert Morris, suffering an 11-9 setback in Northeast Conference action Sunday.

Rookies Lisa Vendel (Sandy Hook, Conn.), Haley Bloom (Hauppauge, N.Y.) and Kimberley Sniffen (Redding, Conn.) each recorded a pair of scores to pace the Black and Gold in the outing, while Olivia McCarthy (Sea Girt, N.J.) netted her debut tally despite the shortfall, but the Bulldogs (3-8, 2-2 NEC) proved their resilience after a first half that saw the team spot its host a six-goal lead at the halftime break.

Down, 8-2, after the opening 30 minutes of action and 10-2 after the first 5:14 of the second frame, Bryant rebounded with a monstrous six-goal stretch that ran the clock down to 9:47 and cut the Robert Morris (3-8, 2-2) lead to 10-8. The Bulldogs' offensive run, which went on uninterrupted for 12:39, featured back-to-back unassisted goals from Sniffen, as well as free position tallies from Bloom and McCarthy.

But with Bryant knocking on the door, the Colonials put a stop to the run and found one more goal in the form of a Colleen O'Donnell free position tally for a three-score advantage and just 4:35 left on the clock.

Vendel would score her second tally and third point of the day on the next possession for an 11-9 margin, but both goalies would keep the other teams' offense out of the net in the closing four minutes for the score to go final.

But it was a five-goal Robert Morris run that spotted the home team a big advantage to start out the game, as both Rachel Engel and Emily VanDyne scored a pair in the opening stretch.

Sophomore Madeleine Pickett (Stratham, N.H.) netted the only non-rookie tally to finally put Bryant on the board when she found her target on a free position shot at the 15:24 mark to cut the score to 5-1.

Consecutive RMU scores by Kaleigh Gibbons renewed the home side's five-goal edge, one Bloom would cut into again in unassisted fashion with just over two minutes to play in the opening stanza. But the Colonials would get the last say before the break with a tally from O'Donnell with just 23 ticks on the clock to enter the halftime intermission up, 8-2.

Ashley Trombetta scored two more for Robert Morris less than two minutes apart to up the score to 10-2 in the opening minutes of the second session, goals that would set up Bryant's comeback run to the finish that would fall just short.

But between the pipes, it was all about junior captain Lauren Filippone (West Babylon, N.Y.), whose 17 saves, including 11 in the first half alone, kept the Bulldogs in it to the last whistle. Kaitlin Pentz made seven stops for Robert Morris.

The Bulldogs will return home for their next contest, hosting conference foe Sacred Heart at the Bryant Turf Complex Friday afternoon (3 p.m.).