W. Lax heads south for two road games

Bryant takes on Mount, Monmouth in pair of NEC road tilts

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -The Bryant University women's lacrosse team begins a two-game away series this afternoon, as the Bulldogs take on Mount St. Mary's before rounding out the road trip against Monmouth's turf on Saturday. Start time for both days are set for 4 p.m. and noon, respectively.

The Bulldogs (2-8, 1-2 Northeast Conference) hope to continue their conference win streak which was kicked off Sunday in a 17-11 victory against LIU Brooklyn.

The Mount heads into today's competition touting a 4-8 overall record with an impressive 3-1 mark in league play.  The Mountaineers will look to their home field advantage and the strong play of sophomore Kaitlyn Larrimore to pace them on Thursday. Larrimore will be looking to add to her 23 goals on the season. 

  The rest of The Mount's offensive power stems from three double-digit point earners.  Freshmen Erin Seipp holds a share of the team lead in assists with six while also netting 16 tallies on the season. Leading the team in draw controls is sophomore Lindsay Diaz, who touts 36 controls and 12 goals on the year and defensively adds 13 caused turnovers.  Senior Ester Rufolo contributes 12 goals, 21 draw controls, and five free position tallies in six attempts to round out the offensive package.

The only player to see time between the pipes for Mount St. Mary's is senior Brigid Mctavish.  Entering Thursday, she sports a goals-against average of 12.56 while garnering 86 saves on the season.  Aiding her defensively is the senior Meaghan Conlon who leads the team in caused turnovers with 17.  Also making a difference has been sophomore Gabe Little, who has grabbed 20 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers.

Heading into the weekend, the Hawks stand at 3-9 overall with an even 2-2 record in conference action.   On offense, the team has looked to the young sophomore Alex Marino, who has totaled a team-high 26 points (23-3—26).  The other main offensive contender is senior Sam Lillo, whose 19 tallies stand as second-most on the team. Marino and Lillo are the only two players to record double-digit markers on the year for the Hawks.

 The lone goalie for the Hawks is freshmen Katie Donohoe, who has 102 saves and a goals-against average of 12.67.  She has received help from junior midfielder Gianna D'Urso, who leads the team in caused turnovers with 22 while contributing 23 ground balls on the year. 

For the Bulldogs, the team will look to continue feeding the ball to its goal-scoring quartet.  Seniors Mary Green (Merrick, N.Y.) and Lauren Sheridan (Bethpage, N.Y.) have combined for 38 goals through 10 games. The pair also has added four assists while Green's 16 draw controls rank two higher than Sheridan's 14. The sophomore duo of Haley Bloom (Hauppauge, N.Y.) and Lisa Vendel (Sandy Hook, Conn.) has also been successful in the attacking third as of late. Bloom is tied for the team lead in points (21-4—25), while Vendel has chipped in 12 goals and three assists on the year.  Vendel's 14 caused turnovers rank first on the team, as well.

 The defensive end of the field is headed by senior goalkeeper Lauren Fillippone (West Babylon, N.Y.), who has started all 10 games and has notched 110 saves on the year while boasting an impressive 11.19 goals-against average. In the defensive end, junior Nicole Rettinger (Dix Hills, N.Y.) has snatched 24 ground balls and forced 19 caused turnovers.