Bloom's five, Sheridan's 100th pace Bryant

BLOOM SCORES FIVE AS SHERIDAN NETS 100TH-CAREER TALLY TO LEAD BULLDOGS TO 12-10 WIN OVER MOUNT ST. MARY'S THURSDAY

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- Led by a career-high five-goal effort from reigning Northeast Conference Rookie of the Year Haley Bloom (Hauppauge, N.Y.) and the 100th-career goal from senior Lauren Sheridan (Bethpage, N.Y.), the Bryant University women's lacrosse team took its second-consecutive victory, topping Mount St. Mary's, 12-10, Thursday afternoon on the road.

The Bulldogs (3-8, 2-2 NEC) overcame a 7-5 deficit early in the second frame to get the win over the host Mountaineers (4-9, 3-2), using seven second-half goals and capitalizing on six saves after the break en route to the team's first-ever victory over Mount St. Mary's.

After The Mount opened the second with a goal from Kaitlyn Larrimore, Bloom answered with consecutive tallies just 41 seconds apart for the fifth tie of the contest, 7-7, with 22 minutes to play in the game. The goals were the first of four-straight Bulldog scores, and the visitors would net seven of eight goals scored in a 21-minute span through the heart of the stanza to give Bryant a 12-8 advantage with under two minutes left on the clock.

Sophomore Katherine Keckeisen (Danbury, Conn.) followed Bloom's pair with a set of her own to cap off the four-goal run, giving the Black and Gold a 9-7 edge before Larrimore closed the gap to one with her own tally at the 14:26 mark.

But from there, Bloom, rookie Skylar Zlotnick (Essex Fells, N.J.) and Sheridan all got on the board for the four-goal, 12-8 margin, leaving just 1:44 remaining on the game clock. The host Mountaineers netted two late tallies to cut into their deficit, but time would run out for the 12-10 final.

In the first half, a Bulldog lead thanks to a game-opening goal from Bloom didn't last long, as Mount St. Mary's Esther Rufolo tied the game, 1-1, less than a minute later. Bloom gave the visitors another one-goal edge at the 18:21 mark, but the home side would erase Bryant's lead and create one of its own with three straight from the combination of Larrimore, Erin Seipp and Jen Semler -- all unassisted -- for a 4-2 advantage entering the final 10 minutes of the frame.

The Bulldogs answered with a trio of their own, as Sheridan netted her 100th-career goal at the 7:51 mark of the first half, becoming just the seventh player in program history to achieve the benchmark. Zlotnick and sophomore Lisa Vendel (Sandy Hook, Conn.) finished the three-goal stretch, but it was The Mount who got the final word in the half, tying the game at 5-5 with 3:26 to play on an Aubrey Rubino goal before Bridget McGann gave the home team a 6-5 halftime lead with 86 seconds to go before the intermission.

The Bulldogs got six saves in each half from senior goalie Lauren Filippone (West Babylon, N.Y.) for 12 on the day, and the captain also picked up a game-high five ground balls for her third win of the season. Bryant picked up 13 on the day and won nine draw controls, paced by four from senior Mary Green (Merrick, N.Y.).

Bryant went an impressive 6-of-7 on free position attempts in the contest, including three players with perfect 2-for-2 marks, and capitalized on 40 Mount St. Mary's fouls to its own 16. The victory was the second straight for the Black and Gold, who return to the field Saturday afternoon when they travel to West Long Branch, N.J., for a 12 p.m. conference tilt with Monmouth University.