Milestone days for Ahlrichs, DeMeo power Bulldogs past Hartford

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Led by a career-high four goals from junior Emma Ahlrichs (Zionsville, Ind.) and another four from junior Jess DeMeo (Mount Sinai, N.Y.), the Bryant University women's lacrosse team controlled start to finish in a 17-2 victory over Hartford on Saturday afternoon.

GAME INFORMATION

Bryant 17, Hartford 2

Records: Bryant (2-0), Hartford (1-3)

Location: Al-Marzook Field – West Hartford, Conn.

COACH BATCHELLER'S COMMENTS

"The day started out with such great energy, which is not always easy on road trips. Our defense did an incredible job holding the Hartford attack to two goals for the game. Additionally, I was extremely pleased to see us carry over a lot of skills we have been working on in practice, including ground balls, eight-meters and feeds into the attack that really helped our offense thrive today."

KEY MOMENT

The Bulldogs started fast, scoring four goals in the first six minutes, with DeMeo and sophomore Caitlin Breglia (Long Beach, N.Y.) splitting them two apiece.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Breglia and DeMeo would split the first six goals of the game, with four of them coming from the 8-meter spot.
• Ahlrichs then added two of her four in back to back fashion, scoring 2:10 apart to increase Bryant's lead to 8-0.
• DeMeo's 100^th goal of her career came at the 8:50 mark of the first half, increasing Bryant's lead to 9-0.
• Freshman Natalie Langella (Northport, N.Y.) scored the first goal of her career in her first appearance, tallying a goal off a free position pass from senior Catlin Brown (San Diego, Calif.) to push Bryant's lead to double figures before the break.
• Bryant added three goals in a 3:15 span, as Ahlrichs added her third and fourth of the afternoon to make it 12-0 and then senior Emily Columbus (East Northport, N.Y.) scored her first of the game.
• Freshmen Abbi England (Longford Mills, Ontario) and Caitlin Bolen (Queensbury, N.Y.) would also add the first goals of their careers, extending Bryant's lead.
• Hartford scored two goals late, with Emily Steele scoring from the 8-meter and Kaitlyn D'Andrea scoring 90 seconds apart to cut the score to its final at 17-2.

STATS

• Bryant outshot Hartford 38-8 on the afternoon.
• The Bulldogs were awarded 10 free position shots during the game, converting goals on six of them.
• Six different players in the Black and Gold finished with three ground balls, with junior Lauren Britton (Monmouth Beach, N.J.) and senior Laura Fullam (Massapequa, N.Y.) recording four each.
• Bryant as a team recorded 39 ground balls to Hartford's 20.
• Britton and Fullam added three and two caused turnovers, respectively. Langella and redshirt-sophomore Melissa Wamp (Florham Park, N.J.) also caused a pair of turnovers each.
• Bryant won the draw control battle 11-9 and forced Hartford into 27 turnovers.

NOTES

• DeMeo is the 6^th player in Bryant's Division I history, and 12^th overall, to reach the 100 goal plateau.
• Ahlrichs' previous career high in goals was three, achieved on April 15, 2016 against Saint Francis U.
• The 15-goal margin of victory is tied for the largest in the Division I era (17-2 win over Manhattan on February 28, 2015).
• Britton tied her career-high in ground balls (4), which she achieved a week ago against Albany.
• Senior Samantha Santeramo (Wantagh, N.Y.) did not allow a goal in the first half, the first time in her career she has achieved that mark.
• Bryant's two goals allowed are tied for the third-lowest in the NCAA this season.
• This is the first time the Bulldogs defense shut out a team in a half since April 21, 2013 when they held Mount St. Mary's scoreless in the second half.
• The 38 ground balls are second-highest in the country this season, one fewer than Radford, while the 12 caused turnovers put them tied for 12^th in the nation.
• The Bulldogs have started 2-0 for the first time since 2014.

UP NEXT

Bryant will defend their Ocean State Cup title against Brown on Wednesday when they host the Bears for a 4:00 p.m. battle at the Bryant Track and Turf Complex.