Bloom paces Bulldogs to first win of 2012

Bloom's four goals pace Bulldogs to first win of season, 17-8, over Presbyterian

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- Sophomore Haley Bloom (Hauppauge, N.Y.) netted four goals while senior Lauren Sheridan (Bethpage, N.Y.) scored a hat trick of her own as the Bryant University women's lacrosse team earned the season's first win in a big way, taking a 17-8 victory over Presbyterian College Wednesday afternoon in Atlanta, Ga.

Bloom scored on every shot she took and chipped in an assist for a game-best five points on the day, pacing five Bulldogs (1-4) with multi-goal games and eight with multi-point outings in the win over the Blue Hose (1-7).

Bryant scored early and often throughout the first half, with Sheridan kicking off the game with an unassisted goal less than three minutes in. Bloom followed with a natural hat trick over a 4:29 span, building an early 4-0 Bulldog lead.

Seniors Mary Green (Merrick, N.Y.) and Antoinette Lombardi (Wallingford, Conn.) would get in on the action as well, with the latter scoring her first tally of the year with 11:47 to play before the halftime break to up Bryant's margin to 6-0.

Presbyterian finally broke through at the 7:07 mark, getting on the board with a Kelsey Rupsch free position goal to cut into the deficit, but the visiting Bulldogs waited just 12 seconds before finding the hosts' net once again. The score, the second of the year for sophomore Olivia McCarthy (Sea Girt, N.J.), sparked another impressive Bryant run, as the Black and Gold netted the last six goals of the half to take a 12-1 lead into the locker room at the break.

Junior Kelsea Gettings (Wallingford, Conn.) registered her first goal of 2012 in the stretch and would dish out helpers on two more before the intermission, aiding goals by sophomore Lisa Vendel (Sandy Hook, Conn.) and the first of back-to-back Katherine Keckeisen (Danbury, Conn.) scores that wrapped up the opening frame.

The Blue Hose would beat the Bulldogs to the scoreboard in the second session, though, coming out with a Brianne Ward free position goal less than four minutes into the stanza. The Presbyterian score was answered quickly by Sheridan, assisted by Vendel, and Green and Lombardi would follow suite with their second goals of the contest for a 15-2 advantage with just under 20 minutes remaining.

The teams would trade goals over the next 12 minutes, with Presbyterian's leading scorer Catherine Ellis netting a pair, interrupted by scores from Sheridan and Bloom. But Bloom's tally that moved the score to 17-4 with 7:27 left to play would be the last for the Black and Gold, as the Blue Hose ended the game with a quartet of unanswered goals over the final five minutes.

But it was too late to stage a comeback, and senior goalie Lauren Filippone (West Babylon, N.Y.) was there to preserve the Bulldog lead, making eight saves in the contest, including five in the second half.

Junior Nicole Rettinger (Dix Hills, N.Y.) picked up a game-high five ground balls in the outing as the visitors won that battle, 19-15. Bryant outshot the Blue Hose, 34-21, including ripping 23 shots in the first half alone. The Bulldogs won 17 draw controls to Presbyterian's 10 and were paced by five wins from Green.

The Bulldogs won't have long to enjoy the win, though. Bryant will return to the field in just three days as the team travels to Loudonville, N.Y., for a Saturday afternoon tilt against Siena College (1 p.m.).