Columbus scores four in 9-8 win over Siena Saturday

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Behind a career-high four-goal outing from sophomore attack Emily Columbus (East Northport, N.Y.), the Bryant University women's lacrosse team held off Siena, 9-8, Saturday afternoon at the Bryant Turf Complex.

Columbus continued her breakout season on Saturday as she helped the Bulldogs (3-2) fend off the pesky Saints (1-4) in a near-even matchup across the board.

After a score from Bryant's Nicole Britton (Monmouth Beach, N.J.) just 22 seconds into the contest, the Saints countered with two-straight from Lauren Smith and Sarah Croutier to take a 2-1 edge at the 25:27 mark. However, the two teams held each other scoreless for the next 12 and half minutes until back-to-back goals from Columbus and junior attack Lauren Descalzo (Hauppauge, N.Y.) pushed Bryant back in front, 3-2.

The lead see-sawed once again back in favor of the visitors after scores from Briana Sirianni and Smith until Descalzo's second of the afternoon knotted the two teams, 4-4, with 4:58 left in the first half. Freshman Catlin Brown (San Diego, Calif.) put home her lone marker of the contest with just 39 seconds to play until halftime, helping Bryant to a 5-4 advantage heading into the locker room.

Out of the break, Siena wasted little time evening the score off a Shannon O' Connor marker at the 28:57 mark, however over the next 15 minutes, the Black and Gold went on to open the largest margin of the day. Britton pushed the Bulldogs back into the lead with her second of the day off a beautiful find from sophomore Molly Martin (Island Park, N.Y.) and Columbus took care of the rest putting home three-straight goals, two on assists from Morgan LaBarbera (New Fairfield, Conn.) and Brown, to propel Bryant to the 9-5 lead with 13:14 left on the clock.

Siena slowly chipped away at the lead, cutting the margin to just a single goal with two minutes to play but, the Bulldogs remained composed in the final ticks, holding on for the 9-8 victory.

Freshman goalkeeper Samantha Santeramo (Wantagh, N.Y.) earned her first collegiate victory for the Bulldogs, making eight stops between the pipes. Siena's Danielle DeLisio and Ashley Holdridge combined to make seven saves on 16 shots in the loss.

Looking ahead, Bryant will hit the west coast in search of some warm weather when they visit Fresno St. (Wednesday) and UC Davis (Saturday).