Looking back at 2016: Bulldogs maintain dominance in the Northeast
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The level of success that the Bryant University women's lacrosse program has enjoyed over the last few years is very difficult to preserve at the Division I level.
Head coach Jill Batcheller has turned the program into a powerhouse in the northeast with double-digit wins in each of her first four seasons. The Bulldogs have won at least 13 games in three-straight seasons and have won the Northeast Conference twice over that span.
Despite falling one win shy of a third-consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2016, the Bulldogs captured their third-straight regular season title and developed a plethora of returning talent.
EARLY-SEASON INCONSISTENCIES
Through the first month of the season, the Bulldogs were just 2-3 and there seemed to be more questions than answers. The season opener at Vermont was won by a final score of 11-7, but it was in frigid temperatures and sloppily played. The home opener against UC Davis was four days later, but it was the hosts on the wrong side of seven goals as they surrendered 12.
Four days later, the Bulldogs again played in blizzard-like conditions at Holy Cross and escaped with an 8-7 victory before returning home for their toughest home contest in program history. No. 11/8 Stony Brook made their way to Smithfield and showed how good it can be with an 18-4 trumping, marking the third-largest margin of defeat at home at the Division I level. The Bulldogs remained at home for a matchup with intrastate rival Brown, but were narrowly edged out, 11-10.
Bryant embarked a much needed road trip starting with two games in South Carolina. The Black and Gold surpassed Winthrop in overtime on March 12, 13-12, jumpstarting their season. It was the first of seven-straight wins and 11 of 12 overall before the heartbreaking loss to Wagner in the NEC Championship game.
LOSSES AND REPLACEMENTS
The Bulldogs had just three seniors on the 2016 roster, but a handful of key pieces from recent years. The team's leading point getter from 2015, junior Emily Columbus (East Northport, N.Y.), was lost for the season in the UC Davis game with a knee injury. With the offense already missing a major cog, senior Lauren Descalzo (Hauppauge, N.Y.) was lost for the final month of the regular season with an injury.
The only senior and top point producer from a season ago that remained was Nicole Britton (Monmouth Beach, N.Y.). She elevated her play in every facet of the game and cultivated her teammates by getting everyone involved.
One of the messages that Batcheller stressed prior to the season was unselfishness and how vital it was that everyone be a good teammate. The team bought into that message and others stepped up their game with the absence of both Columbus and Descalzo.
In total, nine players tallied double-digit points this season, more than any other Bryant team since it joined the Division I ranks. The one Bulldog that made the greatest leap was sophomore attack Catlin Brown (San Diego, Calif.). She tripled her point production from a season ago with 45 (31g, 14a) and became the top offensive threat towards the end of the year. Brown made the All-NEC Tournament team with eight goals and two assists and registered four hat tricks during the year, including three over the final four games.
Junior mid Ali Cardinal (Schenectady, N.Y.) had appeared in 12 games over her first two seasons and she tallied a total of two points. She was awarded more playing time with the injuries and made the most of her opportunities. Cardinal appeared in 17 games, made 11 starts and registered 28 points on 15 goals and 13 assists, also adding 12 ground balls and 11 draw controls.
Junior Shannon Sullivan (Farmingdale, N.Y.) had been a defender for her first two seasons donning the Black and Gold colors. She began this season as a defender, but was moved up to the midfield shortly after the loss of Columbus and Descalzo. After tallying just six points in her first two years, Sullivan emerged as an offensive force. She statted 26 points on 20 goals and six assists, while adding six ground balls and six draws.
NEW BLOOD
Batcheller knew that she had a talented class of freshmen who would be able to contribute right away, but those freshmen were asked to make significant contributions earlier than expected. Five of those rookies made their presence felt throughout the season. Jasmine Perkins (West Babylon, N.Y.) and Meredith James (Essex Fells, N.J.) tallied five and four points on the year, respectively, with the latter adding 11 draw controls.
Emma Ahlrichs (Zionsville, Ind.) came on strong midway through the season, totaling 11 points on eight goals and three assists. She finished third on the team with 19 draw controls, just three more than classmate Lauren Britton (Monmouth Beach, N.J.), who started all 18 games and registered 17 points on 13 goals and four helpers.
The most notable acquisition was midfielder Jess DeMeo (Mount Sinai, N.Y.). After tallying just four goals through the first six games, she stepped up and produced one of the most dominant freshman campaigns in program history, DeMeo netted the second-most goals (34) by a Bryant freshman and that total led all NEC rookies. She scored at least one goal in 11 of the final 12 games, had 10 multi-goal performances and five hat tricks. She caged six goals at Mount St. Mary's on April 8, marking the second most by a freshman in program history.
DEFENDING LIKE DOGS
The offense may have been a concern with all of the new faces throughout the season, but the defense remained consistent. The Bulldogs still ended the year with the league's top scoring offense at 11.39 goals per game, the conference's highest assist rate at 5.00 per game and the NEC's top points per game clip at 16.39. The defense went somewhat unnoticed due to the storylines of DeMeo's emergence and the absence of Columbus and Descalzo.
That defense that allowed a league-best 9.11 goals per game was anchored by juniors Carly Cronin (Feeding Hills, Mass.) and Molly Martin (Island Park, N.Y.). Martin led the squad with 32 caused turnovers and 41 ground balls, sitting third and eighth in the league in the two categories, respectively. Her 1.78 caused turnovers per game ranked 25th in the country. She added a career high of 13 draw controls and scored her first two career goals, coming at Winthrop (3/12/16) and against Sacred Heart (5/1/16). Cronin followed Martin with 20 caused turnovers, 33 ground balls, and her 29 draw control victories were second on the team.
The biggest improvement to the defense was the consistent play of sophomore netminder Samantha Santeramo (Wantagh, N.Y.). As a freshman, she and classmate Daja Andrews (Lumberton, N.J.) split time between the pipes. Santeramo emerged as the go-to goalie towards the middle of the season with stellar play. She allowed just 97 goals in her second year and posted a 12-2 record. She led the league in save percentage (49.7) and goals-against average (7.67), numbers that ranked her 12th and 16th in the nation, respectively. Santeramo made a career high 13 saves at Siena and allowed five or fewer goals 10 times while logging complete games in six outings.
SEASON ACCOLADES & INDIVIDUAL SUCCESS
The 14th-best winning percentage in the country and a 12-win regular season will generally garner much recognition, and 2016's achievements were rewarded properly.
Coach Batcheller won NEC Coach of the Year for a third-straight season and her team swept the major awards. For a second-consecutive year, the NEC Offensive Player of the Year resided at Bryant, as Nicole Britton took the honors this season. Along with being an All-NEC First Team selection and a two-time NEC Player of the Week, she tallied a team-high 57 points on a career-high 29 goals and a league-leading 28 assists. She led the league with 1.55 assists per game and ranked third in points. She registered a point in every game, netting hat tricks in four games, multiple goals in eight, multiple assists in nine and multiple points in 16 contests. The senior added personal bests of 53 draw controls and 26 ground balls while becoming Bryant's all-time leader in draw controls (171) and assists (85) during the year.
Martin and DeMeo were also rewarded for their outstanding individual efforts, taking home NEC Defensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year, respectively. Nicole Britton and Martin were joined on the All-NEC First Team by Cronin and Santeramo.
Despite missing a month of the season, Descalzo was an All-NEC Second Team selection thanks to her 27 goals in just 11 games played, as she led the Bulldogs with 2.45 goals per game. She registered seven points, the second-most in her career, at Winthrop on March 12 including the game winner to become the program's all-time leader in game-winning goals. Descalzo eclipsed Bryant's all-time record for career goals (177) and the Division I record for points (195) during the season.
DeMeo joined her on the second team, as she was also a member of the NEC All-Rookie Team along with Lauren Britton.
ON THE HORIZON
The Bulldogs will miss Descalzo and Nicole Britton immensely next season, but they positioned themselves well for future success. The entire defense will remain intact in 2017, Santeramo will have another offseason to improve and mature, DeMeo will continue to work on her scoring and all-around game, Cardinal will look to elevate her playmaking ability and Brown will step in as the top attack option.
Despite falling short of a third-straight NEC title, Bryant will return its netminder, its defense, the majority of its offense and will get back Columbus from injury. The team will have the pieces in place to return to prominence in the league and make a run at yet another NCAA Tournament.