First-place Mount St. Mary's visits Smithfield on Senior Day
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University women's lacrosse team hosts first-place Mount St. Mary's Saturday on Senior Day.
Bryant will honor its five-member senior class prior to the game: Lauren Britton (Monmouth Beach, N.J.), Jess DeMeo (Mount Sinai, N.Y.), Emma Ahlrichs (Zionsville, Ind.), Meredith James (Essex Fells, N.J.) and Jasmine Perkins (West Babylon, N.Y.).
The Particulars
Opponent: Mount St. Mary's
Location: Beirne Stadium (Smithfield, R.I.)
Date and Time: Saturday, April 20 – 3 p.m.
Tickets: Saturday
Watch: NEC Front Row
Live Stats: Presto Sports
Game Notes: Bryant
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | #GoBryant | #NECWLax
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
Mount St. Mary's is 12-2 on the year and in sole possession of first place in the NEC at 4-0 thanks to a nine-game winning streak. The Mountaineers have not lost since March 3 and have defeated their first four conference opponents by a margin of 7.8 goals per game.
Mountaineer goalie Jillian Petito ranks second in the nation in goals-against average (7.19) and save percentage (.563). Jordan Butler leads the attack with 39 goals and 51 points. Mount is fourth in the nation in scoring defense and eighth in scoring margin, while its 12 wins are tied for the eighth-most in the country.
THE SERIES
Bryant is 6-4 all-time against Mount St. Mary's after splitting a pair of meetings last season. The Mountaineers used a strong second half to spoil the Bulldogs' bid for an unblemished NEC regular season in April before Bryant knocked off Mount, 9-8, four days later in the NEC Semifinals.
Caitlin Breglia (Long Beach, N.Y.) led the Bulldogs with three goals in the NEC tournament victory, scoring all of them during a 6-0 run that turned a 5-3 deficit into a 9-5 advantage.
LAST TIME OUT: WAGNER 15, BRYANT 8
Wagner jumped out to a 4-0 lead and stymied the Bryant offense at a rainy Beirne Stadium Thursday night. Sophomore Caitlin Bolen (Queensbury, N.Y.) scored a career-high three goals in the contest, while junior Maggie Pressler (Smithfield, R.I.) collected a career-best four assists.
COACHING CONNECTIONS
The Bulldog players and coaches will see some familiar faces on the opposing sideline Saturday.
» Mount St. Mary's assistant coach Sam Santeramo graduated from Bryant last May as one of the most accomplished goalies in program history, holding the program record for goals-against average and D1 mark for save percentage while helping lead Bryant to two NEC titles.
» The two head coaches Saturday, Brianna Roche and Lauren Skellchock, were teammates at Johns Hopkins in Roche's freshman season in 2008.
JESS TO IMPRESS
Senior Jess DeMeo ranks second in the NEC with 43 goals on the year. DeMeo ranks 24th nationally with 3.50 goals per game and 43rd in total goals.
DeMeo's 193 career goals rank sixth nationally among active players.
HERE TO HELP
Juniors Caitlin Breglia and Maggie Pressler enter Saturday as two of the top three players in the NEC in assists. Breglia leads the conference with 31 on the year while Pressler has added 23.
Breglia has recorded four assists three times in her last four games and ranks 17th in the nation in assists per game (2.38) and 24th in total assists. Pressler is 40th in assists per game (1.77) and 51st in total assists.
UP NEXT: ROBERT MORRIS
Bryant travels to Pennsylvania for the final two games of the regular season, beginning with a Friday meeting with Robert Morris. The 3 p.m. contest in Moon Township can be seen on NEC Front Row.
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