Bulldogs drop NEC opener at CCSU, 11-5

BULLDOGS THWARTED IN NEC DEBUT, FALL TO CENTRAL CONNECTICUT, 11-5, SUNDAY AFTERNOON

The Bulldogs stayed with Central Connecticut for much of the first half, but a seven-goal Blue Devil run spanning both frames put the hosts out of reach as the Bryant University women's lacrosse team suffered an 11-5 defeat in the 2012 Northeast Conference opener in New Britain, Conn., Sunday afternoon.

Sophomore midfielder Lisa Vendel (Sandy Hook, Conn.) led the Bulldogs (0-2, 0-1 NEC) with a pair of goals against older sister Betsy Vendel's Blue Devils (1-1, 1-0), while Bryant also got goals from seniors Lauren Sheridan (Bethpage, N.Y.) and Antoinette Lombardi (Wallingford, Conn.) and fellow sophomore Katherine Keckeisen (Danbury, Conn.). All five Bulldog tallies came unassisted.

Central Connecticut was paced by six points (1 goal, 5 assists) from both the elder Vendel and attacker Ashley Perkoski, while Mackenzy Ryan's four goals marked a game best. Ashley Mara scored a hat trick of her own in the outing, while Meaghan McCurry snuck a pair past Bryant netminder Lauren Filippone (West Babylon, N.Y.), who made six saves in the loss.

Bryant never led in the contest, but remained close to the home side on the scoreboard in the opening minutes, answering a pair of game-opening goals from Ryan with a free position tally from Sheridan at the 23:09 mark. Mara regained a two-goal lead for the home side, but not until nearly the midway point of the first half, taking a pass from Betsy Vendel for a 3-1 advantage.

Another free position goal, this one from Keckeisen, cut Bryant's deficit to 3-2 with 14:30 to go before the break, but it would be the last Bulldog score of the stanza, as Mara, Ryan and a pair of Betsy Vendel goals would wind down the first-half clock en route to a 7-2 halftime lead for the home side.

But out of the break, Central Connecticut would continue its torrid scoring pace, tacking on three more goals in a 2:08 span for a 10-2 margin with just under 25 minutes still to play.

Lisa Vendel scored an unassisted goal with 20:19 left on the clock before the Blue Devils made their way into the Bulldog net for the final time for an 11-3 lead. Lombardi and Lisa Vendel would score back-to-back tallies with eight minutes to go for the Black and Gold, but the goals would prove to be the last of the contest in the 11-5 final.

The Bulldogs were outshot just 25-22 despite the margin, and CCSU goalie Erin Delancey made nine stops for the win. Filippone picked up a game-best six ground balls as Bryant took the edge in the category, 20-19, while Keckeisen's three caused turnovers were also a contest high. The Blue Devils won 10 draw controls to Bryant's eight but went 0-for-4 on free position shots.

The Bulldogs return to Smithfield, R.I., for their next contest and will look for their first win of the young 2012 season at home against Navy on Saturday, March 3 (12:00 p.m.).