Bryant University Bulldogs BULLDOGS HIT THE ROAD, LOOK TO EXTEND WINNING STREAK TO FOUR STRAIGHT AGAINST TOUGH ARMY SIDE WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

BULLDOGS HIT THE ROAD, LOOK TO EXTEND WINNING STREAK TO FOUR STRAIGHT AGAINST TOUGH ARMY SIDE WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON

SMITHFIELD, R.I. - With three-consecutive wins under its belt, the Bryant University men's lacrosse team prepares to hit the road again, en route to yet another tough opponent in Army, looking to extend its streak to four games Wednesday afternoon at Michie Stadium in West Point, N.Y.

The Bulldogs (3-1) head to the USMA fresh off wins over Sacred Heart, Dartmouth and Wagner, while the Black Knights (1-2) look to avenge back-to-back losses to Syracuse and Cornell. Both are receiving votes in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll while Army is also receiving votes in the USILA Coaches Poll.

"There is no doubt here that this game tomorrow, on the hallowed ground of Michie Stadium, is going to be our second major test of this young season," said head coach Mike Pressler.

And while the meeting will be the first ever between these two programs, their head coaches know each other well.

"I have so much respect for the United States Military Academy and certainly for its lacrosse program, coached by one of the best in the game, Joe Alberici," said Pressler.

Wednesday's matchup marks the reunion between Pressler and Alberici, who served as an assistant coach under Pressler for nine years at Duke University. Alberici will also serve as an assistant coach for Team USA in the upcoming 2010 World Games, a team that will be led by Pressler. The contest also marks Pressler's return to the banks of the Hudson, where he served as an assistant coach from 1984-85.

"It's difficult to play your friends, and certainly to play one of your great friends, in the coaching ranks," Pressler said of the meeting. "But Joe and I both know that between 4:00 and 6:15 tomorrow that the players will do the battling, not us."

And these players will be doing battle.

Army is led by eight goals on the season from Jason Peyer and five goals and seven assists from Jeremy Boltus on the young 2009 season. A tough faceoff man in Sean Reppard (30-for-56) will also be waiting at the ‘X' for junior Andrew Hennessey (Wading River, N.Y.), who currently owns the nation's second-best faceoff success rate at 69.7 percent (62-of-89).

And while the Cadets don't currently sport a winning record, looks can be deceiving, as the team has fallen to such stringent competition as then top-ranked Syracuse, 17-6, and No. 4 Cornell, 9-8.

In their latest outing against Cornell, the Black Knights were led by a career-high 22 saves by sophomore goalie Tom Palesky, who will also be there to stand in the way of Bryant's prolific top attack line of Zack Greer (Whitby, Ont.), Kevin Hoagland (Glastonbury, Conn.) and Bryan Kaufmann (Putnam Valley, N.Y.).

Army's only win of the season came in its season opener against VMI, 17-3, where the visitors were kept scoreless through the first three periods. All-in-all, 11 players have netted tallies for the Cadets, seven of them depositing the ball between the posts more than one.

The Bulldogs will look to its potent top line to continue their high-scoring ways, led by Greer's 13 goals and 10 helpers on the season. His linemates, Hoagland and Kaufmann, each have 10 tallies of their own, dishing out four and three, respectively.

But on Wednesday, Bryant, more so than ever in 2009, will also need the strong play of Hennessey (34 ground balls; 8.5/game, good for No. 2 in nation) and rookie goalkeeper Jameson Love (Darien, Conn.) to continue.

Love (3-1) has made all four starts between the pipes for the Bulldogs in 2009, boasting a .509 save percentage and a 7.42 goals against average. The frosh has 28 saves on the year.

"To face another difficult situation - not just a tough opponent, but challenging them on the road, three-and-a-half hours from home, in the cold of winter - this is a tremendous opportunities for us to see where we're at as a team," said Pressler. "It's a great barometer for us. We had a great outing against Virginia and a couple other nice games, but Army is a Top-20 team, an NCAA tournament-caliber team. They are well-coached and well-disciplined, and they play awfully hard.

"Of all our midweek games and most of our weekend games," Pressler added, "there will not be a greater challenge than facing the Cadets on the Hudson tomorrow at four o'clock."