Dawgs complete comeback to take Senior Day victory over UNH

SMITHFIELD, R.I. - The Bryant University women's lacrosse team finished their regular season home schedule with a 16-15 Senior Day win over New Hampshire.

Saturday's win is the first time in four meetings that the Bulldogs have taken down UNH.

Game Information
Bryant 16, UNH 15
Records: Bryant (9-5, 3-2), UNH (2-11, 0-5)
Location: Smithfield, RI (Beirne Stadium)

Coach's comments on the game…
"We're thrilled with today's victory and to be able to honor our seniors with a win in their last home game at Bryant. We had so many people step up in today's game against a really good UNH opponent. I want to highlight Brooke [Blanche]'s play in the draw, Kaelynn [O'Brien] and Kenna [Kaut]'s efforts from the circle, and Emily DeGeorge's work on offense as they really helped us shift the momentum when we needed it."

How it Happened

Quarter 1: The Bulldogs struck first in the game on a Gabriella Constant goal. UNH answered  back with two goals. Bryant was having none of it though and responded with a 6-2 run to end the quarter.
Quarter 2: The Black and Gold came out firing to score the first goal in the second quarter. The Wildcats took charge and tallied six goals to Bryant's one for the remainder of the quarter to make the halftime score 10-9 in favor of UNH.
Quarter 3: UNH continued their hot streak with a three goal stint to open the quarter. Bryant had had enough of it though and went on a four goal run to tie the score 13-13 going into the final 15 minutes of play.
Quarter 4: In a tension packed fourth, UNH scored first but the Bulldogs responded with a pair of goals. UNH wasn't about to let the game slip away and scored again to bring the score back to level. The Black and Gold capitalized on a key timeout call from head coach Eileen Ferry and were able to tally a goal with 49 seconds left to take the lead. Freshman Kaelynn O'Brien then came up with a big caused turnover off the draw control to solidify the win.

Notes and Notables

• With the win, Bryant ends the season 6-1 at home. The last time they had that good of a home record was during the 2021 season in which they also went 6-1 in the regular season in Smithfield.
• Kenna Kaut's four goals in the game make her the Division I program record holder in single season goals. Kenna now sits at 62 goals on the campaign which beats out the previous record set by Lauren Descalzo in 2015. Kaut also moves into second in all-time program history in the category.
• Kaut also tied her career high in draw controls and assists with 10 draw controls and two assists.
• Emily DeGeorge's five tallies in the game is a new career high for the sophomore. She also tied her career high in points by adding an assist for six points on the day.
• Both Amelia Piercy and Peyton Woodward added a pair of goals to their season totals. Woodward also added three assists while Piercy dished out two helpers.
• Phoebe Fox, Riley O'Mara, and Gabby Constant each tallied momentum carrying goals in the contest. Constant scored the opening goal, O'Mara scored right at the end of the first quarter to keep the momentum with Bryant after a UNH goal, and Fox notched the goal to start the Bulldogs run to level the score at the end of the third.
• Constant also dished out an assist in the game.
• The Bulldogs had their best game from the draw control circle this season, winning 22 of the game's 35 draw controls.
• Kaelynn O'Brien tallied a career high five draw controls and caused four turnovers to give her sole possession of first place in the America East in caused turnovers.
• Junior Jessica Colalillo was right behind O'Brien with three caused turnovers as well as two ground balls in the game.
• Sam Centofante and Isabella Cardi both saw time in cage for the Black and Gold against the Wildcats. Centofante made four saves while Cardi did not register a stop.
• Bryant had the advantage in shots (42-21), ground balls (14-11), and draw controls (22-13) over UNH.

Up Next

The Black and Gold will hit the road to take on Binghamton in a 1:00pm conference matchup next Saturday (Apr. 20th). The Bulldogs will be fighting to lock in their spot in the America East playoffs next week.