Bulldogs hit the road for a matchup with CCSU, Friday at 5 p.m.

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University women's lacrosse team looks to get back to its winning ways and remain in position for hosting rights in the Northeast Conference tournament when it travels to Central Connecticut State University for a Friday afternoon contest.   

The Bulldogs (9-4, 3-1 NEC) saw their seven-game win streak come to an abrupt halt in a 10-7 setback to Robert Morris at home on April 17. The Blue Devils (3-10, 2-2) began the season 0-7 due to a difficult non-conference schedule, but have won three of the last six, including two-straight home tilts, and now find themselves tied for second in the NEC.

Friday's meeting marks the ninth between both schools, as this go-around's visitors hold a 6-2 edge in the series. The Bulldogs have won three straight matchups and have averaged over 13 goals in each of their wins. In the Blue Devil's two wins, they have averaged 10 goals and limited the Black and Gold to 6.5 scores per game.

Bryant has been getting tremendous depth from the offense with at least seven different point getters in seven of the last eight games, and over 10 players tallying points in two of those outings. But over the last three meetings with the Blue Devils, senior attack Nicole Britton (Monmouth Beach, N.J.) is the only member of the Bulldogs to register multiple points (3g, 4a, 8 draws). Junior midfielder Shannon Sullivan (Farmingdale, N.Y.) scored a goal against CCSU last season, and junior defender Carly Cronin (Feeding Hills, Mass.) handed out an assist to go along with two caused turnovers and five ground balls.   

Britton has continued to lead Bryant offensively, as she has tallied points in every game this season and multiple points in all but one contest. Sullivan caged two in the loss to the Colonials and she has scored in seven-straight games, as has freshman mid Jess DeMeo (Mount Sinai, N.Y.). Sophomore attack Catlin Brown (San Diego, Calif.) has tallied points in eight-straight outings with goals in seven, and junior mid Ali Cardinal (Schenectady, N.Y.) has produced points in nine straight.  

The Blue Devil's defense is allowing 10.31 goals per game to sit fifth in the NEC, and they have gotten quality minutes from freshman netminder Jackie Branthover. Following the loss of Morgan Tuller, who averaged 10 saves in four matchups with Bryant, to graduation, Branthover has filled in quite nicely, as she saves the second-most shots per game in the league (8.69) and has the third-best save percentage in the league (45.9). Branthover also sports the fourth-best goals-against average (10.47) and ground balls per game clip (2.69). The unit in front of Branthover is led by junior defender Courtney McPartland, who leads the Blue Devils with 16 caused turnovers and sits second with 29 ground balls.

The CCSU offense has not been as dynamic as its defense this season, averaging a league-low 6.92 goals per game. Leading the offensive production has been senior midfielder Madison Hughes with 34 points on 21 goals and 13 assists to go along with a team-high 32 ground balls. Hughes has netted the third-most free-position goals in the conference and she has the seventh-best free-position percentage in the country (64.3). Sophomore attack Kylie Sullivan has totaled 23 points on eight goals and a team-leading 15 helpers which is good for second-most in the league, just behind Britton's 21. Junior mid Marissa Soto has accumulated 20 points on 16 goals and four assists, and senior mid Falynn McCartney has 19 points on two assists and the second-most goals on the team (17).

Friday's action gets under way at 5:00 p.m. and you can catch the matchup live on NECFrontRow.com or follow along via livestats on CCSUBlueDevils.com.