Columbus nets five, Bulldogs edge Pioneers on road, 11-10, Friday

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Sophomore Emily Columbus (East Northport, N.Y.) found the back of the net five times, including netting the game-winning free position shot with 17 seconds to play, to lift the Bryant University women's lacrosse team to an 11-10 road win over Northeast Conference rival Sacred Heart Friday afternoon.

With the victory, the Bulldogs (8-3, 2-0 NEC) remain perfect in league action while the Pioneers (4-7, 0-2), led by five scores from Jesslyn Joseph, are still on the hunt for their first conference victory.

Consecutive scores from Lauren Descalzo (Hauppauge, N.Y.), Columbus and Nicole Britton (Monmouth Beach, N.J.) early in the second half gave the visiting Bulldogs their largest lead of the day, 9-5, with 14:53 left in regulation.

The Pioneers responded with the same and more three minutes later, though, as Joseph tallied her fifth goal of the day – this one on a free position shot – to spark a four-goal Sacred Heart tear that tied the game at 9-9 with 4:16 to play.

Columbus would put the Black and Gold back out in front less than 60 seconds later with another unassisted goal, but a Caitlin Delaney shot would find the back of the Bulldogs' net to once again even the score, 10-10, with 1:27 left on the clock.

But a foul called on the Sacred Heart defense would put Columbus at the 8-meter mark with just ticks to play and the game on the line, and the sophomore leading scorer made good on her opportunity, cementing her game-high performance and a big conference road win for the Bulldogs.

Descalzo would finish the day with her sixth hat trick of the season and third in a row, scoring the trio of tallies off seven shots while winning two draw controls. Junior attack Morgan LaBarbera (New Fairfield, Conn.) also got on the board, as did senior attack Skylar Zlotnick (Essex Fells, N.J.). Britton also dished out two assists, the only Bulldog helpers of the contest.

Sophomore defender Molly Martin (Island Park, N.Y.) paced the game with five draw control wins and added one ground ball, while senior Shannon Burns (Mount Sinai, N.Y.) recorded two caused turnovers with three ground balls.

Descalzo got the scoring started just 90 seconds into the contest, which featured five ties, including three in the first half. Back-to-back Joseph goals afforded the hosts their first lead of the day, 2-1, with 19 minutes left in the stanza, but Columbus and Zlotnick would renew a one-goal Bryant edge over the next four minutes. Each side would score twice more before the end of the frame, sending Bryant into the intermission with a 5-4 advantage.

Bryant outshot Sacred Heart, 28-20, on the afternoon but was edged in the ground ball game, 12-11. Bryant picked up 13 draw controls to the Pioneers' 10 and went 3-for-4 on free position shots, including a perfect 3-for-3 mark from Columbus. The Bulldogs limited their turnovers to just nine, while Sacred Heart suffered 12 miscues in the loss.

Bryant's rookie goalie tandem once again split the contest, with starter Samantha Santeramo (Wantagh, N.Y.) making three stops before giving way to Daja Andrews (Lumberton, N.J.), who would earn the decision after making five stops in the final 30 minutes. Kelly Keenan played the full 60 minutes between the pipes for the hosts, turning away nine.

Bryant returns home and looks to stay undefeated in NEC action when it takes the field against LIU Brooklyn Sunday at the Bryant Turf Complex at 1:00 p.m.