Bulldogs upset Bobcats, 8-6, in 2012 finale

BULLDOGS UPSET BOBCATS, 8-6, IN SEASON FINALE

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- With an 8-6 upset over league-leading Quinnipiac Sunday on the road, the Bryant University women's lacrosse team, led by a final hat trick from senior attacker Lauren Sheridan (Bethpage, N.Y.), finished out the 2012 season in a tie for fifth in the Northeast Conference.

The Bulldogs (6-10, 5-4 NEC) kept the Bobcats (8-7, 7-2) from winning the outright conference title with the victory, as the visitors never trailed in the contest, opening up a 5-0 advantage through the first nine minutes of the game before allowing Quinnipiac to get on the board.

Sheridan scored two of the Bulldogs' first three tallies, all coming in the opening five minutes, as fellow senior Antoinette Lombardi (Wallingford, Conn.) scored the second Bryant tally before sophomores Kimberley Sniffen (Redding, Conn.) and Katherine Keckeisen (Danbury, Conn.) stepped in to round out the five-goal stretch.

Sheridan completed her first-half hat trick at the 14:37 mark, just minutes after Quinnipiac's Kyra Ochwat got the home side on the scoreboard, to give Bryant a 6-1 lead. And while the Bobcats would score the next three without interruption, Keckeisen would return to the stat sheet with her second of the day with 1:56 to play before halftime for a 7-4 Bryant lead at the break.

But after an 11-goal first half, the teams combined for just a trio of scores in the final 30 minutes of action as goalkeepers Lauren Filippone (West Babylon, N.Y.) and Samantha Tilts combined for seven saves in the second frame.

The Bobcats would score two of the half's three tallies, with sophomore Haley Bloom (Hauppauge, N.Y.) breaking up Quinnipiac goals by Lianne Toomey and Devon Gibney with an insurance goal for the Black and Gold, securing the eventual 8-6 final.

Bloom finished the day with two points, dishing out the only Bryant assist of the afternoon, and was one of three to record multiple points in the outing. Filippone made six saves to get the win and picked up a game-high four ground balls while causing two Quinnipiac turnovers.

Each side fired 18 shots on the day, with 14 of the Bulldogs' fires coming in the first half. Bryant won the ground ball battle, 18-15, and the draw control margin, 9-7, but went just 1-for-7 on free position attempts in the contest.

With the hat trick, Sheridan ends her season with a team-high 45 points, moving her career total to 141, good for seventh on the program's all-time list. Her 117 goals also rank in the record books, coming in at No. 6, while classmate Mary Green (Merrick, N.Y.) wraps up her Bulldog career with 69 goals, good for 10th, and 34 assists, good for ninth all time.

With her six saves, Filippone passed Samantha Libby for the top spot on the program's all-time saves list, finishing her career with 588, and also sits atop the career record book in saves per game (9.64). She leaves the Bryant program ranked in the top 10 in ground balls (third, 189), caused turnovers (fifth, 69), save percentage (second, .473) and goals against average (fourth, 12.60), as well.