Bulldogs travel to CT to wrap up 2012

BULLDOGS HIT THE ROAD FOR FINAL TWO GAMES OF 2012 SEASON

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The Bryant University women's lacrosse team wraps up the 2012 season on the road against a pair of Northeast Conference opponents this weekend, traveling to Sacred Heart for a 7 p.m. game before taking on Quinnipiac Sunday afternoon (1 p.m.).

In the Friday night matchup against Pioneers (6-8, 5-2 NEC), the Bulldogs (5-9, 4-3) look to start a run up the league standings and hand Sacred Heart its second-straight loss from an Ocean State team. Forging a path offensively for the Pioneers is junior Emily Pepe, who registers 57 points on the year with 24 tallies and 33 assists. Senior Aurelie Pluijmakers paces the side in goals scored, having netted 35 on the year.  Sophomore Kelsey Russo makes an all around impact for SHU, picking up 35 ground balls with 20 caused turnovers while slamming home 25 goals and swiping a team-high 50 draw controls.

Defensively, the Pioneers are led by freshman goalkeeper Kelly Keenan, who has posted 141 saves and allowed 168 goals on the season. Teammates Samantha Villafranca, Mary Lagrassa and Kelli Rutledge help make Keenan's job simpler standing strong in front of her on defense, having combined for 47 caused turnovers and 53 ground balls.

The Bulldogs will then have just a day of rest before heading to Hamden, Conn., for Sunday's tilt against the league-leading Bobcats. Heading into the weekend, Quinnipiac is 7-6 overall and 6-1 in the NEC but will also have to play a Friday matchup against Central Connecticut.

Quinnipiac will look to the senior offensive leadership of Marissa Caroleo, who leads the team with 38 tallies while contributing 29 draw controls and 13 ground balls. And the Bobcats' top offensive threats usually come off the passes of the league's leading assist getter in junior Sarah Allen. Allen paces the side with 59 points, 56 of them coming by way of the assist.

The Quinnipiac defense is also well rounded, with seven players causing double-digit turnovers. Junior Chelsea Guerrera leads the team with 16 forced giveaways and has also gathered 19 ground balls. Helping her out is classmate Lianne Toomey with 23 draw controls and 10 ground balls. Senior Devon Gibney leads the team with 45 draw controls, and she also contributes 13 caused turnovers and 22 ground balls.

For the Bobcats, the time between the pipes is split between senior Noelle Martello and freshman Samantha Tilts. Martello has started seven contests and posts an 11.49 goals against average with 71 saves on the season and 85 goals allowed. Tilts has started five games and stopped 53 shots, good for an 11.96 GAA.

The Bulldogs head into the weekend looking to the continued offensive efforts of top-scoring duo Lauren Sheridan (Bethpage, N.Y.) and Haley Bloom (Hauppauge, N.Y.), who contribute 32 and 31 goals, respectively. They are aided by a solid and well-rounded midfield which includes senior Mary Green (Merrick, N.Y.) (18 goals, 9 assists, 21 ground balls, 23 draw controls) and sophomore Katherine Keckeisen (Danbury, Conn.) (18g, 21 GBs, team-high 27 draw controls).

Defensively, Bryant is led by senior goalkeeper Lauren Filippone (West Babylon, N.Y.), who leads the conference in saves per game with 10.57. She also has 57 ground balls and a 10.69 goals against average. She isn't alone on her end of the field, either. Junior Nicole Rettinger (Dix Hills, N.Y.) has 21 caused turnovers and 29 ground balls while sophomore midfielder Lisa Vendel (Sandy Hook, Conn.) has 31 ground balls and 20 caused turnovers in 2012.

Can't make it to the game? Follow along with Live Stats at www.bryantbulldogs.com.