Bulldogs set to begin 2013 season on Wed.

WLAX SET TO OPEN 2013 SEASON ON WED. VS. HOLY CROSS

SMITHFIELD, R.I. — The Bryant University women's lacrosse team will host Holy Cross at home Wednesday night, as Winter Storm Nemo has forced a change of location for the 2013 season opener, moving the originally scheduled contest from Worcester, Mass., to the Bryant Turf Complex at 7:00 p.m.

The game marks the season debut for both teams, as the Bulldogs return a strong core of veterans in 2013 under first-year head coach Jill DePetris, who has her team poised to make an impact in the Northeast Conference in its first season with full Division I eligibility.

Bryant finished the 2012 campaign with a 5-4 record in league play, but does have holes to fill on both ends of the field. Among the pieces that need replacing are the loss of program top-10 scorers Lauren Sheridan (117 career goals, 141 career points) and Mary Green (69, 103). Just as impactful is the loss of three-year starting goalie Lauren Filippone, who wrapped up her Bryant career last season ranked in the program's top five in career ground balls (3rd, 189), caused turnovers (5th, 69), save percentage (2nd, .473) and goals against average (4th, 18.90), and became the all-time program leader in career saves (588) and saves per game (9.64).

ATTACK
Despite losing two of their top three point getters from a season ago in Sheridan (39 goals, 6 assists) and Green (20g, 9a), the Bulldogs welcome back 16-game starters Haley Bloom (Hauppauge, N.Y.) and Olivia McCarthy (Sea Girt, N.J.) to lead the attack in 2013. 

Bloom is the team's leading offensive returner after finishing her sophomore season second on the team with 39 points off 32 goals and seven assists. McCarthy also had a solid 2012 campaign, posting 13 points off five scores and dishing out eight helpers, good for second most assists on the roster.

"Haley is one of our top scorers coming back from last year," said DePetris. "We are looking for her to use her speed and call on the experience she's gained as a starter over the last two seasons to lead our attack."

Together, Bloom and McCarthy will serve as the glue and the guidance for an offensive group that is full of both skill and youth, featuring three freshmen and two sophomores in its ranks.

DePetris's trio of rookies in Lauren Descalzo (Hauppauge, N.Y.), Morgan LaBarbera (New Fairfield, Conn.) and Nicole Britton (Monmouth Beach, N.J.) are ready to make an impact alongside the returning pair after strong preseasons from each of the first-year players. The three offer the Bulldogs a unique mixture of speed, craftiness, and work ethic, all qualities that will not only give Bryant depth, but help elevate the program within the Northeast Conference and beyond.

"All three bring their own unique aspect to the attack," said DePetris. "And after just a short time, we are already seeing them play more like experience veterans than true freshmen, and that's a credit to our upperclassmen for getting them comfortable, confident and ready to contribute immediately."

MIDFIELD
The Bulldogs return a plethora of experience in the midfield, anchored by the superior two-way play of three returning juniors in Katherine Keckeisen (Danbury, Conn.), Kimberley Sniffen (Redding, Conn.) and Lisa Vendel (Sandy Hook, Conn.).

All three were 16-game starters a season ago, with Keckeisen and Vendel finishing fourth and fifth on the team in scoring, respectively. The trio combined for 45 goals and 12 assists in 2012, paced by Keckeisen's 20 scores, while Vendel (17g, 5a) finished second on the team in ground balls (34) and caused turnovers (22) as arguably the team's most well-rounded player on the field.

Keckeisen returns as the team's leader in draw controls, a category she paced last season with 35, while Sniffen added 15 ground balls, 11 draw controls and six caused turnovers to her 13-point season.

The Bulldogs will also see sophomore Shannon Burns (Mount Sinai, N.Y.) chip in time in the midfield after scoring three goals and adding an assist in a rookie campaign that saw her appear in 15-of-16 contests.

"Shannon is a very offensive-minded midfielder who adds to our attack out of the middle and in transition," said DePetris. "No matter which players are in the game, our midfield is at the heart of what we do offensively, defensively and on the draw. We are excited for our midfielders to set the tempo for the game with their intensity, talent and energy and to use that ability to spark our play on either end of the field."

DEFENSE
Just as it does in the midfield, Bryant also returns experience and consistency at defense, a unit that will be anchored by 2013 captains Nicole Rettinger (Dix Hills, N.Y.) and Lindsay Langella (Northport, N.Y.).

Entering her fourth season as a starter on defense, Rettinger finished the 2012 campaign third on the team in ground balls (31) and second in caused turnovers (22). A two-time All-NEC selection, the senior has been one of the team's most consistent and reliable players throughout her Bulldog career, a trait that contributed to her selection as a captain in 2013.

"We have a really great balance of leadership styles in our captains this season," said DePetris. "Rettinger leads by example. She comes to practice every day with a work horse mentality, pushes her teammates day in and day out, and shows our whole team what confidence, will and determination to win looks like."

Rettinger will get the start in the back alongside fellow captain Langella, a junior.

"Langella is a great vocal leader," said DePetris. "She is a consistent motivator for the team and is great at keeping the energy really high."

With both captains coming from the defensive end, add in the vast amount of talent and experience returning in the back from the likes of senior Emily Bogan (Swansea, Mass.), juniors Melanie Erk (Danbury, Conn.), Lindsay Gilfeather (Pleasantville, N.Y.) and Kelsey Greissing (Hudson, Ohio), and sophomore Aileen Pearman (Fair Haven, N.J.), and the Bulldogs look to enjoy roster depth even greater than in recent years.

GOALIES
Much of that defensive depth comes from a spot even further back, too, in the form of two highly competitive and well-matched options to replace the hole left by Filippone and anchor the Bulldogs between the pipes.

"These two goalies have really stepped up this year and have been working hard alongside Coach Cuddihy in learning new techniques and becoming the backbone for our already strong defensive unit," said DePetris.

Junior Brianna Watt (Babylon, N.Y.) and freshman Kelly Petillo (Manasquan, N.J.) have battled all year long for the top spot in the cage, pushing each other to improve every day, with both displaying their own distinct strengths and differences.

"Both have exuded confidence in the goal throughout fall ball and into the preseason," said DePetris, "and both are starting to communicate really well on the field."

Watt, a skilled stopper with a strong ability to read the defense and clear the ball, brings the most experience to the table, having made 17 saves in limited action (seven appearances, one start) while honing her skills behind all-league netminder Filippone over the last two seasons.

Petillo has stood out for her own ability to read the play and make the big stop when needed, but has also been noticed for her success communicating with the Bulldogs' mostly upperclassman defensive unit as only a freshman.

But everything is speculation until that first whistle sounds, and that time is getting excitingly close, as the Bulldogs get set to jumpstart their 2013 season at home against regional rival Holy Cross Wednesday night at the Bryant Turf Complex (7 p.m.).

"I think this is going to be a great first-game matchup," said DePetris. "Both teams are similar in style, both are very scrappy and fast."

The Crusaders return eight starters to a team that went 10-8 overall last season, including a pair of Preseason All-Patriot League honorees in senior Taylor Zebrowski and sophomore Laura Ryan. Last season, Holy Cross won the matchup against the Bulldogs, 14-5.

"It's exciting to have our first game in our first year with full postseason eligibility at home in front of our own fans," said DePetris. "There are so many variables living and competing in the Northeast, and I'm so appreciative of both administrations and coaching staffs for being flexible and willing to push this game forward and get our season debut in on time, no matter where it was played."