Bulldogs pull away in second half behind three hat tricks to down Blackbirds, 13-7

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University women's lacrosse team was tied, 5-5, at halftime, but outscored LIU Brooklyn, 8-2, in the second half to run away with a 13-7 victory and improve to 9-0 on the road this season while moving into first place in the Northeast Conference.

 The Bulldogs (11-4, 5-1 NEC) were paced by a trio of hat tricks, as senior attack Nicole Britton (Monmouth Beach, N.J.) led the charge with four points (3g, 1a). Freshman mid Jess DeMeo (Mount Sinai, N.Y.) and sophomore attack Catlin Brown (San Diego, Cali.) were the other three-goal scorers. Junior mids Shannon Sullivan (Farmingdale, N.Y.) and Ali Cardinal (Schenectady, N.Y.) tallied two goals and an assist and one score and a helper, respectively. Sophomore netminder Samantha Santeramo (Wantagh, N.Y.) turned away six shots and allowed seven to find the back of the net, as she improved to 10-1 on the season.

The NEC's top point getter, Jenn Peters, led the Blackbirds (4-12, 0-6) with two goals and an assist, as Carlie Robinson, Tori Shinkowitz and Jillian May each netted a goal and handed out a helper. Alexis Maldonado was a machine between the pipes, turning away 17 shots and half of Bryant's attempts, but she allowed 13 goals in the loss.

The first half was as close as could be with the league's top offense in the hosts matching up with the top defense in the visitors. Both sides traded goals over the first 17 minutes, and though both teams would have leads, the advantages would not be more than one. Following a Shinkowitz goal to make it 4-3, Rorie Crum netted an unassisted goal to give the Blackbirds a 5-3 edge at the 7:35 mark of the first frame.

It would be the largest lead of the game for LIU, as the Bulldogs answered with a two-goal run of their own to close out the half, courtesy of Brown and DeMeo.

After Peters and Brown traded goals in the opening minutes of the second half, the Bulldogs built up their first multi-goal lead of the game. Britton bounced one in to the left of Maldonado at the 27:38 mark, and Sullivan caged her second just 50 seconds later to make it 8-6.

Robinson brought the hosts to within one, 7-8, five minutes later, but the Bulldogs would pull away from that point. Following a nice save and snare from Santeramo, the sophomore held the ball and waited for her offense to develop. She moved about 15 yards forward and fired a heave to Britton who slipped in front of the defense, made a stupendous catch and took it all the way to beat Maldonado one-on-one, making it 9-7 with 16:51 to play.

It was the first of five-straight Bryant goals to close out the game, as the defense was able to shut down Peters and the LIU offense averaging over 12 goals per game entering the day.

The Bulldogs were able to separate in the second half thanks to a 13-6 edge in the ground ball category, 11 Blackbird turnovers and a 23-9 shot advantage.

With the win, the Bulldogs clinch a berth in the Northeast Conference Tournament. Also clinching a spot was Wagner, which defeated Robert Morris in overtime on Friday, putting Bryant in the driver's seat to host the conference tourney, set to begin on May 6.

The Bulldogs conclude the regular season on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. when they honor their senior class and host Sacred Heart, looking to clinch the top overall seed.