Bulldogs open 2018 season at home Saturday
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University women's lacrosse team is set to open their Northeast Conference title defense on Saturday when they play host to Albany at the Bulldog Track and Turf Complex.
THE PARTICULARS
Opponent: Albany
Time: 1 p.m.
Watch Live: NEC Front Row (PxP: Jake Zimmer, Color: Matt Gosselin)
Live Stats: Presto Sports
THE SERIES
The Bulldogs and Great Danes meet for the first time since 2014, when Bryant fell in Smithfield, 20-13, in its home opener that season. That remains Albany's lone trip to Smithfield until this season, with the teams playing a home-and-home series in 2013 and 2014.
This is the third straight season the Bulldogs will open with a team from the America East, falling to Stony Brook last season on Long Island and defeating Vermont in Burlington in 2016.
SCOUTING THE GREAT DANES
Albany enters the matchup losers of its first two contests in 2018, dropping a 12-10 decision to Yale and a 19-12 game to No. 4/5 Syracuse on Thursday night at the Carrier Dome. Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-American Honorable Mention nominee Emma Powlin, who has seven points in two games, leads the Danes.
The Great Danes finished the 2017 season with an appearance in the America East Championship and a bid in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, where they fell to Northwestern, 15-7.
BRYANT vs. THE AMERICA EAST
The Bulldogs played four games against their regional compadres last season, taking on Stony Brook twice while dueling with Vermont and UMass Lowell once. Bryant's only win against the conference came in a 12-8 victory over Vermont, the first of nine wins at home in 2017.
LAST TIME VS. THE GREAT DANES
The two teams last met in Smithfield back in 2014, a 20-13 Albany win over the Bulldogs. Bryant stayed close for the first quarter of the game, but a 7-0 Albany run proved too much for the Black and Gold to overcome.
DEFEND OUR DIRT
The Bulldogs are coming off a perfect 9-0 record at the Bulldog Track and Turf Complex in 2017, in which they defeated teams by a combined margin of 84 goals. That includes five games in which Bryant defeated its opposition by 10 or more goals.
DEUCES DENIALS
Senior Samantha Santeramo (Wantagh, N.Y.) returns for her final season in the cage for the Bulldogs, fresh off a 13-win campaign in 2017. In conference play, Santeramo allowed just 7.74 goals per game last season and finished with an 8.91 GAA, good for 10th nationally. Her .508 save percentage placed her sixth in the country.
JESS WHO'S BACK, BACK AGAIN
Coming off a 58-goal performance in her sophomore season, Jess DeMeo (Mount Sinai, N.Y.) returns to lead a Bulldogs attack that looks to play faster this season than last, meaning more goal-scoring opportunities for No. 8. She will be joined by sophomore Caitlin Breglia (Long Beach, N.Y.) and senior Catlin Brown (San Diego, Calif.). The trio combined for 127 goals and 44 assists last season, totaling 161 points.
OH CAPTAIN, OUR CAPTAINS
Head coach Jill Batcheller named Brown, along with senior Amanda Moss (Lebanon, N.J.) and junior Lauren Britton (Monmouth Beach, N.J.), the Bulldog captains for the 2018 season, citing their on- and off-the-field leadership qualities. Along with her 46 points, Brown recorded 26 draw controls, 19 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers last season.
Britton was an anchor in the midfield and looks to do the same this season, tallying 25 draw controls and 19 ground balls to accompany her 19 points. Moss steps into a leadership role in the Bulldog defense this season, after recording 12 ground balls and four caused turnovers.
CRAZY YOUNGSTERS
Bryant welcomes 10 freshmen and one sophomore transfer to the Bulldog family in 2018 who will look to impact the Bulldogs right away. Abbi England (Longford Mills, Ontario) joins Bryant as a historic recruit, becoming the first women's lacrosse player to join from Canada, hailing from Longford Mills, Ontario.
WE'RE PROFESSIONALS
Kelsea Donnelly and Maddison Lesher, both entering their second season as assistant coaches for the Bulldogs, were drafted to the Women's Professional Lacrosse League, which begins play this summer.
Donnelly, with the Baltimore Brave, and Lesher, with the Philadelphia Fire, will play each other in the league's inaugural regular season game on June 2 as part of a doubleheader with Major League Lacrosse.
FOLLOW THE PROGRAM
Get an inside look at Bryant's title defense in 2018 by following them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.