Bryant comeback falls short as Bulldogs fall to Brown, 12-8, Saturday

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Junior Lauren Descalzo (Hauppauge, N.Y.) scored a game-best four goals and recorded a contest-high five points, but the Bryant University women's lacrosse team couldn't pull out the comeback, falling to intrastate rival Brown, 12-8, Saturday in Providence.

All five of Descalzo's points came in a second half that saw the Bulldogs (1-1) outscore the Bears (1-0), 7-5, but the margin wasn't enough to overcome a 7-1 halftime deficit.

Senior midfielder Shannon Burns (Mount Sinai, N.Y.) opened the game's scoring eight minutes into the contest, netting a free-position goal for the 1-0 Bulldog advantage. It wouldn't last long, however, as Brown ripped off seven straight to run out the first-half clock.

Lauren Toy evened the score at 1-1 at the 18:39 mark, and Janie Gion would score on a pass from Yuna Hur less than three minutes later to give the Bears a lead they would never relinquish. Hur would score goals of her own twice over the final 12 minutes of the frame, and Richael Walsh, Marissa Hudgins and Toy would all get on the board for the 7-1 margin at the intermission.

In second, Descalzo got the Bulldogs going early with an unassisted tally 2:14 into the stanza to close the gap to 7-2. Brown followed with four-straight scores for an 11-2 advantage by the 15:45 mark, but Bryant responded to the hosts' run, rattling off five of its own in uninterrupted fashion.

Rookie Meaghan Brennan (Glen Head, N.Y.) kicked off the stretch at the 15:29 mark with a free position score, and Descalzo would follow with one of her own as the clock hit seven minutes to play. Junior attack Nicole Britton (Monmouth Beach, N.J.) closed Bryant's deficit to 11-5 just 41 seconds later off a dish from reigning NEC Player of the Week Emily Columbus (East Northport, N.Y.), and back-to-back goals from Descalzo in a 28-second span – the second assisted by Columbus – would bring the Bulldogs back within four, 11-7, with 4:25 remaining in the contest.

But Hudgins would renew a five-goal edge for the host Bears two minutes later off a feed from Walsh, and while Britton netter her second of the day off a pass from Descalzo with 36 ticks to go, the Bulldogs would fall short of completing the comeback in the 12-8 final.

Brown outshot Bryant, 24-20, on the contest and more than doubled its visitors in ground balls, 17-8. Both sides netted a trio of free position tallies, while the Bulldogs committed 17 turnovers to the Bears' 10. Freshman netminder Samantha Santeramo (Wantagh, N.Y.) made 10 saves in a complete-game effort for the Black and Gold, while Kellie Roddy made seven of the team's nine saves in 56:29 of action to record the win.

The Bulldogs return to action next Saturday, March 28, hosting Manhattan College at the Bryant Turf Complex at 1:00 p.m.