Bulldogs look for first win vs. Blue Hose

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The Bryant University women's lacrosse team opens 2012 Spring Break action in Atlanta Wednesday afternoon, taking on Presbyterian College at 2 p.m., still in search of the season's first win.

The Bulldogs (0-4) have had a week's rest since last hitting the field and have suffered back-to-back one-goal losses since opening March action. The Blue Hose (1-6) earned their first victory on March 2 with a 19-16 win over Regis at home but have dropped their last four outings, including three by considerable margins. Still, Presbyterian played tough against Siena at home just two days ago despite falling to the Saints, 15-12, after a late push from the visitors.

Presbyterian is led on the season by Catherine Ellis's 16 points and boasts a pair of double-digit goal scorers in Ellis (15) and Kirstin Stenoien (11). Offensively, the Blue Hose have received scores from 12 different sources in 2012 while 11 have dished out at least one assist, paced by four from Jaime Beamish.

In all, Wednesday's hosts have picked up 65 tallies to average just over nine goals per contest, but they have been outscored, 130-65, on the year, allowing opponents an average of more than 18.5 scores per game. Opponents have also nearly doubled up the Blue Hose in shots, 250-137, with top shooter Stenoien firing 26 times in seven games this year.

Bonnie Corrigan paces the home side with 14 ground balls and adds six draw control wins, as Ellis also leads Presbyterian in the latter category with 21. PC is just slightly behind its competition in ground balls this season, picking up 107 in total, and has four players with double-figure wins off the draw.

In the cage, Presbyterian has platooned its goalkeepers, with a trio seeing action in 2012. Susan England has seen the most time and appeared in six of the team's seven games while starting in four. She currently sports an 18.65 goals against average with 44 saves and a 1-4 record. Samantha Arey has four appearances and 120 minutes between the pipes (20.91 GAA, 17 saves), while Jamie Carlson has made one start in three appearances while leading the group with a 14.13 goals against average and a .407 save percentage.

The Bulldogs will look to send top scorers Lauren Sheridan (Bethpage, N.Y.) and Haley Bloom (Hauppauge, N.Y.) right in to challenge Presbyterian's chosen netminder, as the pair has combined for 15 goals and 17 points over four games this season, which Sheridan leading with way (9 goals). Sophomores Lisa Vendel (Sandy Hook, Conn.) and Katherine Keckeisen (Danbury, Conn.) each enter the game with four points off three goals and an assist while a quartet of additional Bulldogs have also chipped in points this season.

Defender Nicole Rettinger (Dix Hills, N.Y.) is coming off a big game against Yale last Wednesday, where she collected five ground balls and forced a season-best and game-high five caused turnovers. The junior leads the Black and Gold in the latter category with 10 on the year and ranks sixth in Division I with 2.5 caused giveaways per contest.

Senior captain and starting goalie Lauren Filippone (West Babylon, N.Y.) paces Bryant with 13 ground balls on the season and has been stellar in net for the Bulldogs, posting a .537 save percentage that ranks fifth among all Division I goalkeepers. She has put up 51 saves playing all 240 minutes for Bryant and averages 12.8 saves per game, good for third in the nation.

Wednesday's game will kick off from West Forsyth High School in Atlanta, Ga., at 2 p.m. Follow the game on live stats or on Twitter @BryantGameday.