Surging women’s lax set for senior day

SMITHFIELD, R.I. - The Bryant women's lacrosse team, winner of four of its last five games, is set to close out the 2011 home schedule and celebrate senior night on Thursday when the Bulldogs take on Central Connecticut at 7 p.m. at the Bryant Turf Complex.

The Bulldogs have been on a roll as of late, upsetting the two preseason favorites, Quinnipiac and Sacred Heart, last weekend to move to 4-2 in conference play. Bryant handed Quinnipiac its first conference loss on the season on Sunday, the second time the Bulldogs have done so this season after handing then-undefeated Monmouth its lone NEC defeat of the year. The Bulldogs enter Thursday's game having topped two of the three teams currently tied for the conference lead.

On Thursday, Bryant will look to continue its good form while also celebrating the career of the team's lone senior in midfielder Meaghan Delaney (Centerville, Mass.), who will be playing her last home match donning the Black and Gold. Delaney has seen action in 30 games during her four-year career with the Bulldogs, collecting eight ground balls while scoring a goal during her sophomore season against Saint Francis (PA).

Facing the Blue Devils (6-7, 1-5 NEC) in the home finale, Bryant would, on paper, have an easy task against the team predicted to finish last in the preseason NEC coaches poll and currently tied at the bottom of the conference. But Central Connecticut could be deceptively tough despite its poor conference record.

Prior opening conference play, CCSU boasted a 5-2 mark, posting a four-game winning streak leading up to its NEC opener. The Blue Devils have been playing their opponents especially tough during the month of April, with all three of their games this month decided by just a single goal. The Blue Devils grabbed their first conference win on April 1, defeating Robert Morris, a team that beat Bryant two days later, 10-9.

The Blue Devils also boast several standout performers this season. Goalkeeper Erin DeLancy is second in the NEC and fourth in the country with 11.46 saves per game, while also ranking third in the conference and eighth in the nation with 42 ground balls collected. Offensively, CCSU is led by sophomore Meaghan McCurry, who is tied for first in the conference with 32 goals, while also ranking in the top-10 with 16 assists. Classmate Betsy Vendel, the reigning Northeast Conference Rookie of the Year, is showing no signs of a sophomore slump in her second season, and the midfielder leads the conference with 22 assists and has an impressive 24 goals to her name entering Smithfield.

But that isn't the only threat Vendel poses, as the always-potent offensive weapon will have an added chip on her shoulder Thursday when she takes the field against her kid sister, Bryant rookie stud Lisa Vendel (Sandy Hook, Conn.), for the first time on the collegiate stage.

But the younger Vendel will be gunning for her sister's team as well, and the Bulldogs should enter Thursday's match with plenty of confidence riding a 3-1 record in April. Starting with Thursday's match, the Bulldogs close out the season with three teams in the bottom half of the NEC standings that have combined record of just 4-12 in conference play.

 The Black and Gold have used a very balanced offense to grab several impressive victories in recent weeks. In the Bulldogs' 11-10 victory over Sacred Heart, junior Mary Green (Merrick, N.Y.) led the offense with a hat trick. Green has 11 goals and six assists on the season.

On Sunday, it was freshman Katherine Keckeisen (Danbury, Conn.) who recorded a trio of goals in Bryant's 11-9 upset win over the league-leading Bobcats. Keckeisen also had two goals on Friday and earned NEC Rookie of the Week honors for the second time this season for her efforts. Fellow freshman Haley Bloom (Hauppauge, N.Y.) picked up four points over the weekend and leads the team with 33 points on 21 goals and 12 assists.

Vendel presents a new type of threat for the Black and Gold as the Bulldogs' top two-way player, and she has been a key player on both ends of the field. Defensively, Vendel is coming off an impressive weekend, earning NEC Defensive Player of the Week honors after collecting seven ground balls, causing four turnovers, collecting two assists and winning six draw controls. The frosh leads the team with 24 draw controls on the year and is second in both ground balls (30) and caused turnovers (13). On offense, Vendel ranks third on the squad with 18 points and has 14 goals with four helpers on the year.

Behind her, junior goalkeeper Lauren Filippone (West Babylon, N.Y.) has continued her strong play, leading the NEC and ranking fifth in the nation with a .502 save percentage. She is also seventh in the nation with 137 total saves.

The Bulldogs have faced Central Connecticut in each of the past two seasons, picking up a 14-10 victory last year and a 12-8 victory in 2009.